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The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) plans to introduce an annual R265 household tax on the eight million households currently in its TV license billing system, the sunday time reports.
The SABC said the levy should apply to all households, including those who use smartphones, tablets and computers to broadcast television and radio programs, even if they were not watching SABC programs.
Instead, the levy would effectively apply to households that are simply able to access SABC programming.
The tax is expected to bring in up to R2 billion a year for SABC, a lifeline for the troubled national broadcaster that has seen the collection of television license fees decline in recent years.
Indigent households and retirees would be exempt from paying the tax, and pay-TV subscription services like Multichoice are expected to help with the collection on behalf of the national broadcaster.
Introducing herself to parliament in late February, Deputy Communications Minister Pinky Kekana said the expanded definition of a television license is outdated and must be adjusted to current realities.
Kekana said SABC’s budget constraints mean that it now runs the risk of having to rationalize programming that is presented in indigenous languages.
He said a household tax could help alleviate these concerns, as the SABC could be further funded as public service media.
However, Kekana said that this was only a proposal and that any additional levy or tax would have to be approved by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni.
“We cannot stand by and say that the status quo must remain when we know that our public broadcaster is dwindling. So these are the proposals that we should put in the public domain and if the government can finance us directly from the treasury or be creative when considering the tax on households. “
TV license replacement
The SABC has indicated that this household tax could replace the current television license fee system, which is considered outdated.
“The current television license fee system should be phased out and replaced by a device-independent and technology-neutral household tax on public broadcasting, which would impose on all households, with exemptions for the indigent and discounts for retirees, “he said in a proposal document. posted last month.
“The Household Tax is based on the fact that all South African households have the realistic ability to access publicly broadcast content, either through free-to-air analogue radio and television platforms or through DTT, DTH, the Internet and streaming services through various mobile applications. “
This means that the rate will be linked to the public’s ability to access public broadcast content and not to the consumption of that content.
He noted that in 2018 the German Constitutional Court upheld a similar system of household taxes as constitutional, as it was “specifically for financing public service programming that is fundamental to democracy.”
“The German court also determined that even if a household does not use public broadcasting, it has a” realistic ability to use it. “
“It should be noted that, despite reports to the contrary, the SABC is not in favor of licensing or charging any device or technology in lieu of a public transmission fee.”
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