Monday, April 9, 2018

TV Tax Court Stuff

About once or twice a year.....a couple of lawsuits will hit the German Federal Constitutional Court, and involve the TV tax (17.50 Euro per month per house).

Focus (the German news magazine) brought up four of them which will be read next week at the court.

These four involve the the contribution itself as a tax, and the denial of legislative processes which regulate the contribution itself.  There's also going to be a complaint over the general idea of equality. 

Some folks think it's unfair to pass a 2nd tax onto people who own a second house, or apartment.  The fact that they aren't there....in their mind.....should relieve them of this 'duty'.

Odds?  The court will likely side with the TV tax folks and deny any challenges.  It's very unlikely that weak spot will be found with the national law over the TV tax. 

A brewing hostility?  If you go to a group of a hundred folks under the age of twenty-five....a minimum of seventy-five percent have given up on public TV and simply refuse to watch it.  In my son's case, it's been a minimum of twelve years since he watched German public TV.  Each year, this group ages a bit, and gains another percentage point or two.  My guess....in about ten years....there will be enough votes to make a one-topic national election, and fire a number of CDU/SPD folks who stand in the way of dumping the TV tax.