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The ANC wants taxpayers to fund the SABC through a “household tax” that all households in South Africa would be forced to pay, reports the sunday time.
The ANC’s national executive committee (NEC) included this in its draft resolutions from a meeting that took place last week.
The proposal reportedly states that the government should introduce a special tax to be paid by every South African household, regardless of how they consume the content.
“Every home is supposed to have a television. It doesn’t matter if you look at it or not, ”said NEC President Nkenke Kekana.
He reportedly argued that the tax wouldn’t be a lot of money for each household, but it would be a significant overall raise for the SABC.
This idea will be further discussed at an NEC meeting next month and, if agreed, would be taken to the ANC’s national general council (NGC) in May, where it would become government policy if accepted.
The tax would reportedly use a model similar to current indirect taxes, such as the fuel tax, which funds the Highway Accident Fund (RAF), and the electricity rates used to help Eskom.
Close TV licenses – Outa
This news follows the SABC reporting a net loss of R511 million for the financial year 2019/2020.
Television license revenue fell 18% in this period and as a result of this battle, the Organization Undo Fiscal Abuse (OUTA) has called for traditional television licenses to be eliminated entirely.
“Any tax or levy that does not achieve its purpose due to failed administration or inapplicable mechanisms should be closed,” he argued.
He argued that instead of trying to increase revenue from television licenses, the SABC should review its business models and revenues.
The key to this, Outa argued, is ensuring that SABC’s content makes it an economically viable broadcaster in its own right.
He also suggested that the government should decide how much of the SABC’s funding should come from general levies or taxes, and where oversight of this will fall.
Outa also criticized reports that content from services like Netflix would be regulated to ensure that South African content has sufficient streaming time or could otherwise be blacklisted.
“This is a blatant refutation of freedom of choice, the democratization of information, and universal access,” said Outa CEO Julius Kleynhans.
Regulate services on demand
The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) recently reaffirmed why you think there should be a 30% local content share on streaming services like Netflix.
He has called this idea “one of the most important changes” and “one of the most positive policy proposals.”
“The spirit behind this whitepaper is to secure a future for South Africa’s broadcasting industry,” said DCDT Chief Broadcasting Policy Director Collin Mashile.
“What this means is that we are trying to create opportunities for the production sector and the creative industry.”
The DCDT has received close to 20,000 comments so far and, based on requests from various stakeholders, has extended the deadline for comments on the proposed policy to February 15, 2021.
Headline: Lies, incompetence and corruption
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