I was just about to get a new TV this weekend, but decided to postpone it for a week, to scout around a bit. Now my question is
1) Do I have to pay tax only if I buy a new TV? What If I get a TV from a friend, do I still pay the tax? Please note that I have already subscribed for a Cablecom connection, so does this help.

as i understand it, if you have a tv you (technically, by law) have to pay the tax. full stop. the send you a new bill quarterly. it doesn't matter how big it is, how old it is, where you got it from, or even if you watch it or not.

http://www.billag.com/web/de/fragen_...en/geraet.html (German) tells you that with a device capable of receiving TV programmes, you must pay their fee. Ditto for radio reception....

So:
2G/3G phones that can get TV/radio
Computer that can download and play programmes from the internet (as well as TV tuner cards)

are included amongst the "obvious" TV and radio devices (including those, for example, in a car).

To get out of paying you must have a device that has been crippled from being able to play back TV programmes:

Wenn das Gerät technisch in der Lage ist, Programme zu empfangen, sind Sie melde- und gebührenpflichtig. Es reicht nicht, die Antenne abzuhängen oder das Gerät nicht an das Kabelnetz anzuschliessen. Nur wenn keinerlei funktionierende Antenneninfrastruktur (Satellitenspiegel, Zimmerantenne oder Kabelnetzanschluss) vorhanden ist, besteht für das Fernsehgerät keine Meldepflicht.

So the issue is that you have to ensure it can't connect and receive programmes. Given that connecting it to a DVD or VCR means that you can playback recorded TV programming to me creates a caveat that you can either get away with or they can make you pay.

The billag fee consists of radio or TV or both.
Do you have car with a radio? If so, you need a license.

Some people pay up, some get away with no Billag, some people get fined for no Billag. You take your choice...

My personal view: pay up if you have piece of kit that can recieve or display.

In my case, I didn't have TV, however I had to pay because my car had a radio ... in the words from the Helpdesk guy from Billag, after I -uselessly- threatend to remove my car radio: "If your alarm clock also has radio, you still need to pay"

When I had my own apartment in Zurich back in 2000, I did not pay any billag taxes as I did not approach the government to advise them of my use of television/radio. I believe if you don't register with the billag, there will be a billag man knocking on your door one day checking to see if you have a television/radio. And since I had moved out after 12 months, the billag never showed up.
A similar situation happened to a friend of mine who did not register either. In his case, my friend then lied to the billag guy saying he has just moved a few months ago instead of admitting he lived there for 2 years.
Also, my ex girlfriend does not pay either (more than 1 year now). Her strategy is she would never open the door to anyone she does not know ;-)

I guess because of data privacy the billag does not know when some is moving in. I'm not sure though...
eric

As for me in Dublin here i pay an annual TV license of 155 euros. That is still cheaper than CH TV License. There is no license for radio as such....

I can't think of paying 500 bucks just for TV and Radio. There are little ways of avoiding it unless you really hide tv, radio, mobile etc.

When I moved into my flat, there was something over the arial plug which meant that I had to call someone to come and take it off. I wonder whether this is for Billag purposes or not.

The whole thing worked out pretty complicated and basically I decided against having a TV for TV purposes - I can still watch videos and DVDs though.

I just pay for the radio now.

Forget about data privacy my friend. As long as it suits the government it will be shared. I remember we discussed this on another friend and someone said that they knew someone who worked in an electronics store and it was their job to send details of new TV purchases to Billag. I've been told that Billag also receives details of new registrations when people move to an area. But since this is dependant on 4000 different communities sending the data in, it might not always happen.

See this thread for more discussion on data protection

It's remarkable how many people behave this way: imagine being so concerned about not paying a TV/Radio licence bill that you don't open the door unless you know who it is! I find that really weird, yet this isn't the first time I've heard this. Wow.

Maybe I'm just too friendly and pay the bills at least I don't live in fear of Billag Man... I actually enjoy watching the TV, and although I admit it IS expensive, other taxes seem quite reasonable compared to neighbouring countries. Swings...roundabouts...

(Although I have nothing but contempt for Billags customer service and the obstacles they place to prevent you from righting their wrongs. It's often easier to pay the bloody bills than contest unfair billings. Swine!)

Let's say I have a TV, radio and every convceivable device capable of receiving all the crap that is being broadcast. And let's say I have never come across this forum. Then, how would I know that I have to pay billag?

A friend got a pacakge from the Geimende asking him to pay billag. I never got one. In fact my TV was purchased in Switzerland, in the same gemeinde I live in. Where, what, how etc. must I go about paying this ridiculous fee. (with interest and adding up all this money, I estimate about CHF 40,000 over 30 years...honestly, does Swiss television improve your quality of life that much?)

you should pay; you should contact them if you have not done so already. It's a licence to receive programming.

Whether you perceive the amount per annum to be value or not, it's government-backed and you simply have to pay.

Contact: http://www.billag.ch/web/

Other reading:
http://www.20min.ch/news/wirtschaft/story/15871915
http://www.20min.ch/news/schweiz/story/20638778

That was just the cable company protecting their socket so u can't have free cable tv !!

I registered my TV when I bought it, or at least I went onto a website and entered some stuff in Italian. I suppose I could have been ordering a pizza.

So far I haven't gotten anything from them.

As for refusing to pay, I figure it's a tax - if I was going to pick a tax to dodge, I would skip filing my US tax return next year rather than worrying about the TV tax.

That said, for what it costs you'd think the newscaster on TeleTicino could afford a better tie.

I wonder what the chances are of getting away with it until the next pay-day...?

Should be fine, even if they send you a notice, you have 30 days to pay ...

If you have recently moved into an apartment, subscribed to Cablecom or bought a new TV you can expect a letter from the Billag.

They will contact you, don't worry about it. They also just backdate your payments.

So I guess that putting chewing gum into the cable sockets isn't going to make them think we don't use it..?

If you just found out about this and you are 6 months late, would you register from say today or from the start, as they say they might fine you 5000 if you forgot at the beginning.

In other words, once you let them know you exist, will they check when you moved in?

Anybody got an answer for Muze7's post? I received a letter from billag yesterday say if I have a rv or radio I must pay a quarterly licence fee.
Now I will certainly do this but I really don't want to have this backdated for 8 month to a year....??

Any previous experience? Please make it a nice experience