Municipality will let Serafe know that you changed your address. No double payments and the next bill will be in a year. But it might be different if you divorce - it is paid once per household. And after separation, there would be 2 different households.

Hello.

I've sent the letter every year for opting out (not registered) without any problem but this month I received the yearly receipt with both years 2021 and 2022 together......

What can I do in this case?
I have an internet-free apartment, no smartphone or laptop there. I have one at the office for work.

Is it mandatory to send the opting out letter registered?

When is coming a new referendum against this nonsense?


Thanks

How did you post this at 18.30? Doing over time at work??

Under the new rules, it is much harder to be freed from the requirement to pay Serafe. It's possible that you might have qualified for the exemption previously, but no longer do under the new regs.

Take a gander at this from Beobachter:

https://www.beobachter.ch/digital/mu...SAAEgKt9_D_BwE

Specifically:
Ich habe keinerlei Geräte. Schulde ich den Betrag trotzdem?

Nein, in diesem Fall müssen Sie nichts zahlen. Allerdings gilt diese Befreiungsmöglichkeit nur bis Ende 2023. Voraussetzung ist, dass Sie keine elektronischen Medien empfangen können, somit weder Radio, Fernseher, Autoradio, Smartphone, Computer noch Tablet haben.

So gehen Sie vor: Warten Sie die Rechnung ab. Reichen Sie dann mit einem 'Formular der Serafe' (my note: this is a link in the article) ein entsprechendes Gesuch ein, und zwar für jede Abgabeperiode neu. Wer keinen Internetzugang hat, kann das Formular auch per Telefon unter der Nummer 058 201 31 67 oder mit einem Anschreiben bei der Serafe bestellen. Wenn Sie später ein Gerät anschaffen, sind Sie verpflichtet, das sofort zu melden. Das Bundesamt für Kommunikation kann befreite Haushalte kontrollieren.

---

Do note that the exemption is only through 2023.

That was helpfull.
Thanks.


I work in the evening.

Apologies for not trawling through 35 pages worth (though I did flip through a dozen).

Our family have had a chalet in Switzerland for 30+ years... I don't know if Billag was a thing back then, but I'm astonished to only hear about SERAFE now. Our various housekeepers never mentioned, and we never received anything from the commune / canton. Sure enough they do know our address though (abroad), as we receive all other bills / taxes owed.

According to BAKOM FAQ:
Someone who has their principal residence abroad and who does not have a secondary residence in Switzerland, i.e. a person on holiday in Switzerland, does not have to pay the fee.

I get that our guests are not liable, as above, and as for ourselves our principal address is abroad... does our chalet, which we visit for less than 7-days per year average, even count as a "secondary residence"?

I see that the regular SERAFE invoice would list "residents of the household", which I can hardly produce.

Or perhaps I should just maintain the status-quo, which is pretending I know nothing, because I literally just learned about this after so many years....

Just received my annual Serafe bill - 335 CHF. I watch zero TV and do not use any of the SRF services so really unfortunate I need to pay this just because I have a mobile device.



At almost 30 CHF a month this is more than my mobile bill which I find outrageous.



Bumping this thread to see if there are any recent discounts or opportunities to reduce the cost for someone in a similar situation. Thank you

Tis

and I got only 50CHF as if I have overplayed something
needs to check my old payments....

It's incredibly unfair, i have a business that i run from home which has very high turnover/volume and small profit margins (commodity trading) I pay as a householder.


I also get hit for the company participation that last year alone was Chf 15k, probably close to double this year and there is no way i can avoid it as a registered company doing a tax return each year.

OK, it pains me to re-open this thread, and please no comments of “I never use my TV etc. why should I pay” - so many other threads on that.

A single man has challenged the Serafe fee before the Court of Human Rights. Published today:

https://www.20min.ch/story/single-ma...e-568508592240


OK, own up.

It has been rejected by the Swiss Federal court, but the man doesn't give up. he is now moving his case further to the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

I bet he's a great neighbor, never complains and easily compromises when conflicts arise about the use of the laundry-room etc

The guy is not wrong: 36.8% of households in CH are inhabited by 1 person.



On the other hand, income tax rate is higher for married couples were both work. But two wrongs don't make a right, there should not be income penalty for married couples and maybe single people could pay less for SERAFE.

My only gripe with SERAFE is that I don't give a single **** about TV. The medium is useless. If keeping the population informed is thaaaat important, written media is much more valuable, it truly improves literacy...so daily, weekly and monthly prints should get some help too. At least lower taxation. I'm somehow satisfied with SERAFE just because of radio, plenty of stations which are free of ads.

Is there a way to check whether I'm up-to-date with Serafe payment? This thread has made me realise that it seems like a very long time since I've seen a Serafe bill...

I received the last one in early 2020, I'm wondering if I'm the only one.

Once per year, paid sept 09/20, 09/21, 10/22

Hi Folks
What us going on with this Serafe? I heard it will be mandatory for all housholds as of January 2024 to pay for it even if they dont have any TV...is that true?
But really what is the goal of this Serafe? WHY should i pay this money every year when i dont have TV radio snd i dont even understand a word of swiss/german??i just use youtube and insta on my phone. Really Serafe is literally robbing me of my money.

Yes, it is true - opt-out will not be possible from January.

The purpose of Serafe is stated to be:

Further information can be found here.

It is worth noting that Swiss voters rejected the idea of scrapping the licence fee by 71 percent in a referendum in 2018. As someone who cannot vote in Switzerland, this is not worth getting upset about. Just accept it as part of the cost of living in Switzerland.

For the same reason that people who don't drive cars still pay taxes which are allocated to roads. This is how societies function.

As a non-driver If I got a bill for road tax I'd probably be a little upset about it. Following your argument, take the TV money out of regular taxes. At least I get the 'discount' of not paying UK TV licence fee.

Your bill may not be itemised in a direct format, but you do pay road tax. Whether you drive on the roads or not, you benefit from their upkeep (e.g. produce which is road-freighted to your local supermarket).

You probably contribute to schools too, whether or not you have children who will directly benefit from it.

C'mon folks. This is how taxes work. It's for the benefit of the wider community.