Why The TV Licence Fee Should Be Scrapped

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Did you know that the BBC is responsible for more than 1 in 10 criminal prosecutions?

Via tvlicensing.co.uk

Flickr: averain / Via hemeltoday.co.uk

In just the past week, a woman from Berkhamsted was fined £55 for watching a colour TV without a licence. She was also ordered to pay a £20 victim surcharge and £120 costs.

Flickr: diamondace / Via nottinghampost.com

In just the last week, Nottingham Magistrates' Court dealt with eight cases. Fines ranged from £35 to £260, plus victim surcharge, plus costs.

Flickr: stevecadman / Via leicestermercury.co.uk

In Leicester, a publican was fined £420, was ordered to pay £200 costs, and a £20 victim surcharge, for not having a TV licence for his business premises.

Just three of the many cases taking place in magistrates' courts across the country. But the solution to the problem is simple. Here is what Roy Greenslade had to say in the London Evening Standard on 26 March 2014:

"So the answer surely must be to adopt the same approach used by utilities, such as gas and electricity, and the by the TV channels delivered to TV screens via satellite - do not deliver the service to people who refuse to pay. It means that the BBC must find some way of encrypting its television and radio output, whether it is sent through their TV screen, the computer or a mobile device."

The BBC doesn't see it that way though. Instead, it repeats the same tired old line:

'Support for the licence fee has risen by 22 per cent since 2004 and it remains the most popular way of funding the BBC.'

This is despite a poll last year that found that 49 per cent of the public want the licence fee abolished.

buzzfeed.com

The BBC has got its head in the sand. Nick Ross, the former BBC Crimewatch presenter thinks the same too.

Not only is the licence fee outdated and not fit for the modern age, it also disadvantages the BBC. Let people voluntarily subscribe to BBC services, rather than being forced to pay, or risk a criminal conviction.

For all the latest news about the 'Axe the TV Tax' campaign, follow us on Facebook and Twitter and log-on to www.AxeTheTVtax.net Together we can axe the TV tax.

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