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!)

www.20min.ch/news/schweiz/story/11131873

if you have both, as many do: 462 francs [from 450] per year. As things go, it's quite expensive compared to other European countries.

Its worth it for the superb quality programming we get

and so unusual to find something even more expensive in Switzerland.

What obligates one to pay the license? Are you relieved if you don't own a TV or radio?

I couldn't find an answer after looking through the Billag site, and searching previous posts here, but apologies if I have missed any similar discussions...

Troglodytes that we are, we do not watch television or even own a TV - and so do not pay the TV tax.

Our neighbor has asked us to go in with him on the cost of installing a satellite antenna (Is that a dish? Shows how much I know about the whole topic...) He is talking about installing one antenna that would split to each of our houses. Would having something like that installed make us liable for the TV tax, even though we do not own a TV to connect to the antenna?

(The only thing I found on Billag was the opposite case - If one owns a TV that is capable of reception, but one does not get programming because there is no antenna or satellite connected, one still has to pay Billag. But I could not find answers to having an antenna but no TV.)

Now, I'm willing to share the antenna installation cost, for the sake of neighborhood harmony... but I really don't want to end up paying Billag for something we do not use.

So, anybody know where we would stand?

you will be liable if you could receive and decode signals.

why pay 50% if you won't use it?

Hmmm... I was afraid of that.

(But thanks for the info...)

I was considering going along with his plan because... when he stopped by the phone was ringing, the dogs were barking, something was burning on the stove... and I couldn't come up with a quick answer so I said I'd think about it.

But if it means that we'd be left in thrall to Billag, not such a good idea.

Ah, the things we do to keep peace in the neighborhood.

if you just paid to have the cable hanging there in mid-air, you're daft and you own Billag nothing.

Have you spoken to Billag ?

I think you're right in your initial post. If you own a tv capable of reception, you pay tax. If you own a cable, a decoder and even a dish but have NO tv, you pay, no tax. . .

I remember asking this question about 5 years ago
(hoping I could keep sky, turn off the cable ( swiss tv ) and pay billag nothing. Alas, no.
They claimed I have a tv capable of reception and therefore I pay. . . .

Do you have a radio in the house? In the car?
You owe Billag, did you know?