Hobbes' Choice wrote:It one of the few "taxes" that are voluntary. It's not even a tax - it is a 'licence fee'.
I stand corrected, it is a "fee" but it is not voluntary. Every premisis
must be covered by a licence. In the old days, there was a three TV limit to the number of appliances your licence covered. Now, in the wifi age, it doesn't specify. You don't even need wifi. It seems that all you need is an address and a smart phone. If you are covered by your phone service provider for mobile data, that still means you are able to access BBC iPlayer and therefore must pay the fee.
What is interesting is that, if you don't have a licence and their 'enforcers' come knocking on your door, asking permission to enter, you can refuse them entry. They have no right to burst into your premisis. Often people assume they must let them in, and so do. People can be compliant.
Hobbes' Choice wrote:The BBC also has some of the best TV on earth.
The BBC used make the most amazing programmes. They had theIr own studios, and trained professionals in-house, under apprenticeship schemes. A job there was one you could have held for life... though the pay was often lower than the commercial companies. That's mostly all gone. Unfortunately, now the quality varies as they do not make their own programmes any more. They put out tenders to smaller commercial companies who offer the best 'value for money' (read: cheap). The industry standards have changed over the decades and the BBC have simply fallen in line, given their budget.
