TV Tax

Just got the bill in the mail for my TV tax! I love when that comes. Paying taxes on something I get absolutely nothing in return for is one of my favorite things about living in a socialist society. And what could possibly deliver less than government run television? It comes every 3 months and adds up to a little over 2000 crowns a year, or about $300. If you own a TV here, or a radio for that matter, you'll be getting this bill from Radiotjänst. This isn't a tax that you pay upon the purchase of a TV, or tax tacked on to your cable bill. This is $300 a year just for the right to have a TV physically present in you home. And if you don't pay you bill, or if you truthfully or otherwise tell them you don't own a TV, you can expect a government agent to come knocking on your door just to make sure you aren't trying to stick it to the man.

And what do you get for your forced contribution to channels 1 and 2? Well I rarely tune in but I'm pretty sure you're looking at the test picture until noon, hours of government debates, some news, probably some soccer. Oh yeah, and Melodifestivalen in January, can't forget that annual "song" competition! I'm not really sure but that's the point....it's a lot of money for something I don't use. I could double my annual fika budget with that money! Think of it this way, if you live in North America and don't have cable TV, you probably get four or five channels like NBC, ABC, FOX, CBC, etc. And then you get PBS. Public TV. What if you got billed $300 a year for PBS, wouldn't that be sweet? Well that's exactly what's going on here. You'll hear the argument here that because we pay that money they don't have commercials. Congratulations but is it supposed to make me happy that I get to support crappy, commercial-free television? If they did have ads, they would likely be the highlight of their programming schedule. So here's an idea SVT....put some decent shows on, sell advertisements, and support yourself like big boys and girls.

There has recently been rumours of eliminating this tax but, in the meantime, a couple of things to keep in mind. If you are planning on buying a TV, buy it used instead of in a retail store. This way there is less of a chance that the TV police find out that you are a TV owner and start billing you. Secondly, if you hear an unexpected knock at the door some evening, remember to quickly hide your TV in the closet before answering. I may write more about this later, but for now I have to run. There's a show coming on about lonely farmers looking for love.