Can anyone from England confirm this? T.V. Tax????

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jcoyoung

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I heard from a friend that people in Jolly o'l England that they have to pay a TAX on TV sets. If they don't pay the tax, their TV gets confiscated. :eek:

This sounds suspiciously similar to gun control. Oh, you can still own a TV, you just have to pay a tax on it!

You can have my TV when you pry it from my cold dead hands.

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"Ray guns don't vaporize Zorbonians, Zorbonians vaporize Zorbonians" The Far Side
 
I'm not from England but I can confirm that in GB a subject of the Queen must buy a licence in order to own a Television....
Of course there is a fee involved in getting this licence and therein is the "Tax"

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TANSTAAFL- R.A. Heinlen

"Molon Labe"- Leonidas to Xerxes at Thermopile
 
There is also a "TV Tax" in The Republic of Korea. (South Korea)

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"Lead, follow or get the HELL out of the way."
 
I could say "Give 'em a centimeter, and they take a kilometer.", but they use inches and miles too.

We better start hiding our TVs here. After our guns are gone, TV is next. Who knows, maybe our old pre-ban TVs with the knobs for changing the channel will start going up in price.
 
In actual fact the Brits don't pay a TV tax, rather it is a fee charged for receiving the signal from the state owned BBC (British Broadcasting Company), so the fee is not paid as a tax at source when the set is purchased but when it is subsequently placed in any residence (whether or not the TV is actually used), one license also covers any number of sets in the same residence. There are 2 fees, one for black and white TV's and a higher one for color sets. When I last worked over there it was about $130 per annum for the color license. The flip side is that their state channels (BBC1 and BBC2) are completely commercial free and feature excellent programmes, many of which we see over here. The BBC employ TV emission detector vans to locate homes with TV's turned on that do not show in their records as having a license, a knock on the door from the inspector is then your next unpleasant surprise. Personally I'd be glad to pay $130 a year to have channels that don't feature Piggy O'Donnell.

We may think this crazy, but the British media are currently more interested in whipping up anti gun propoganda in regards to the US following the recent spate of shootings. Basically the editorials in the London newspapers I've seen recently are saying that all Americans are gun crazy and therefore crazy as cuckoos. I suggest they mind their own business.

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A Person Is Smart
But People Are Stupid

Mike H
 
In the UK you have a TV tax. They have inspectors that drive around looking for TV antennas. Then they will come into you home to inspect for unauthorized TV's You also have to pay more if you have a color TV instead of a B&W one. They also check for Satalite dishes and compare your address to a master list. If your not on the door they will come a knocking.

They also have a screen tax, every screen in you house has a yearly tax. Plus a garden hose tax a tax if you park on the street by the # of tires on the street plus all kinds of other really wilt taxes.
 
[sarcasm]Gee, sounds like a GREAT place to live[/sarcasm]

Do they have a breathing tax too? How about a walking tax?

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"Ray guns don't vaporize Zorbonians, Zorbonians vaporize Zorbonians" The Far Side
 
As a Brit now (thankfully) resident in the US I can say that Mike H. is correct. It is not a tax, rather a fee for receiving TV signals broadcast by the BBC. In some ways, this is not unlike paying to receive cable or satellite (except the number of channels you get are very few in comparison).

I am not aware of any "screen tax", a "garden hose" tax or a "wheels on the street" tax. Each motor vehicle is subject to a "motor vehicle excise" tax which is broadly akin to the US "tag" fee (although much more expensive). Gas is taxed VERY highly.

John Francis
 
I've worked with many guys that while stationed in the UK (USAF) had to live off base. Everyone of them told me about having to pay "taxes" on those item along with other bizzare stories.

One friend purchased a Satellite dish to use once they moved on base. However it was several months before they were to move. Aprox 2 months after purchasing the TV Police knocked on his door demanding he was to pay the tax on his dish. It was still in the box and never installed. He was taken to court for having a dish and not paying the tax.

He lost and had to pay tax on a dish still in the box, cuz he had purchased it. Once you purchase it you show intent to watch TV and that's all it took.

He was the same guy who had to pay tax on a car that was parked in his spot but one tire was touching the street. At this time the car did not work and he did not have tags on it.
 
I remember seeing this subject on a documentary on american TV once. I also vaguely remember some sort of stupid tax on square inches of window in your house. Something about the solar energy. In the show they said that people board up their windows to pay less tax on them. This was on the discovery channel or some such. I have no reason to believe it's false.
 
I am a dual national (US/UK). I was once proud of the UK passport, Now the only time it sees the light of day is when I want to leave an airport in Europe during a long lay-over. I guess that makes it worth the $85 I pay every ten years to keep it active.
 
Slightly off thread, but get this one. I saw in my local paper where a vendor in England must now use metric figures in all sales. Can't go into a pub and order a "pint" anymore. You actuallyb get a jail term if you violate this law. What a pile of crap.
Paul B.
 
TV fees are common in many countries around the world, including my home country Finland. Americans can be happy of not having to pay such fee (and possibly a happy minory in that in global scale).

Ossi
 
I believe the window tax was abolished several hundred years ago, along with hair powder tax and more recently dog licenses and radio licenses. If a vehicle (or any part thereof) is parked on a public highway and is not displaying a Vehicle Excise Disc (like our tags), it is breaking the law.

On the other hand their kids don't go around killing each other at kindergarten so they must be getting something right.

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A Person Is Smart
But People Are Stupid

Mike H
 
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