Germany Imposes Draconian Internet Tax On Citizens

This is a nasty lil peice of news from the european news mill.



[edit on 12-10-2004 by John bull 1]

That's almost the same thing as raising tax on breathing poluted air

"Draconian" my bottom!

This simply amounts to an extension of the TV & Radio licence common in many European countries where we maintain a national broadcasting facility.....a total nothing story.....and hardly the end of civillisation as we know it..... despite the writers' sad childish inability to 'do a Germany story' without reference to Hitler, nazis or the gestapo.

Big deal. Wise up.

If you already pay the TV & Radio licence once on your TV you don't pay this tax again.

In common to most countries that have this licence you will always find some people bitching about it and pointing to 100% commercial systems as if they are 'superior' or 'fairer'.

Personally I don't know how anyone can put up with the endless ridiculously long repeated ad breaks in a 100% commercial system, not to mention the appalling standard of much of the 'output'.

Sky TV is warning enough thank you (not to mention extremely expensive compared to the cost of the standard TV licence).

My own view is that TV in the UK (not to mention the world when exports are taken into account) would be masively impoverished were it not for the existance of the BBC.....and I imagine Germans feel the same about their home stations jus tlike the French do about theirs and the Danes about theirs etc etc.







[edit on 12-10-2004 by sminkeypinkey]

Socialism at its finest folks!

Originally posted by edsinger
Socialism at its finest folks!

- What is?

A relatively small tv licence fee is your idea of the 'enslaving socialist state'?

Jayzuss, you want to get out more mate.

18 euros a month, every month, for your entire life is not a "small fee".

Then again, the Brits used to have a 90% tax bracket.

all in the name of fairness.

Originally posted by moxyone
18 euros a month, every month, for your entire life is not a "small fee".

- compared to the average German income it's buttons; even Ger,mans on social benefits can easily afford this as their benefits permit a decent life .....and compared to commercial TV charges it's practically nothing.

....oh, and not forgetting that for this you also get (usually) quality TV and it forces commercail TV to at least attempt (sometimes) to keep up quality-wise.

Then again, the Brits used to have a 90% tax bracket.

- a long long time ago, and 87% (actuall) was only paid on what were then very very high incomes and it went in several steps up to that level.....no one simply paid 90% of their income as tax. That is simply not true.

all in the name of fairness.

- Well that was certainly a part of it.

Mostly it was because in those days even the ultra-wealthy felt they had a responsibility to the rest of 'their' society; an attitude that at least persists in continental Europe.

That's right, I'm from Germany and i definitely know that because i payed a few hundred bucks yesterday to the so called "Fee service". Anyway, at least they're producing scary shows with my money and American celebrities do agree with me.



First of all, i want to say in advance, that this is not just the worst nightmare for American celebrities, but a nightmare came true for every German possessing more intellectual keenness than a common sack of hammers also.

Nevertheless it seems to me, German people do love the fact of being forced to pay for this show. Maybe because it's fun.

But taxes aren't fun here, they're kind of boring so they do not pay via taxes for it, but in terms of a right, the German government has given to the broadcasting companies in order to force the people to pay for the privilege of seing other people cracking walnuts with their butts on TV.

That's fun! Isn't it? And that's why they call it "fee for democracy"also,...you know... because it's fun again, hahaha.
I assume it's a official proof of humor. The German government has proven that it's not only wholeheartedly democratic but it's good sense of humor by the way. Hahaha. I'm sure the guy in charge for that funny dilemma laughed himself to death after signing this law. WETTEN DAS?


www.newrepublic.com...

By Thomas Rogers


If you’re a semi-famous Hollywood TV actor and you want to raise your profile in Germany, you could ask your agent to book you on one of the country’s most popular talk shows. Even better: You can complain about that experience when you’re back in the United States. Last week, Will Arnett, who is only marginally known in Germany, was on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” when the conversation turned to Arnett’s recent appearance on “Wetten Dass..?” The show, whose title translates more or less to “Wanna Bet,” is a uniquely German two-and-a-half-hour-long combination of talk show, variety show, and game show, broadcast live about six times a year.

Arnett told Kimmel that “Wetten Dass..?” was “the craziest TV show” he had ever seen. “They brought out 50 dogs,” he explained, “and I would motion to one of the dogs, they would throw a Frisbee, and the dog would catch it and bite it, and the people would have to guess which dog it was.” When Kimmel asked him what the show’s name meant, Arnett said “I think it means: What the # is happening?”

Arnett hit a nerve back in Germany, where the mediocrity of its TV—and “Wetten Dass..?” in particular—is currently a particular source of national insecurity. Whereas other European countries, like Denmark and France, have impressed international audiences with high-quality shows like “Borgen” and “The Returned,” TV in Germany remains dominated by talk shows, schlocky crime procedurals, mediocre miniseries, and, well, “Wetten Dass..?”—or as a New York Times headline from last year described it, “Stupid German Tricks.”

The day after the Kimmel appearance, most major German outlets had some coverage of Arnett’s remarks. “Will Arnett about Wetten Dass: ‘What the # is Happening?,” announced Der Spiegel’s website. While some Germans took offense, many others shared his irritation. Some tweeted that Arnett’s comments “would be funny if they weren’t true,” or that it was time to rename the show “#whatthe#ishappening.” One Hamburg newspaper wondered whether it was time to create a support group for Hollywood stars who had been traumatized by the show.

There are plenty of scarred survivors to choose from. In 2012, Tom Hanks complained about having to wear cat ears on “Wetten Dass..?” while Markus Lanz, the host, jumped around in a potato sack. “In the United States if you are on a TV show that goes for four hours, everybody responsible for that show is fired the next day,” he said. Halle Berry supposedly once almost walked off the show after Lanz tried to get her to kiss a male guest (she later described the experience as feeling “lost in translation”). And YouTube boasts endless clips of Hollywood celebrities—from Paris Hilton to Kevin James—looking around the show’s set with a combination of boredom, confusion, and horror.

Their reactions are understandable: Not only does the 33-year-old “Wetten Dass..?” seem to confirm a lot of the world’s less generous stereotypes of Germans—e.g. humorless, weird, with terrible taste in formalwear—its concept is also awkwardly difficult to explain. German broadcaster Frank Elstner supposedly came up with the show during one sleepless night. The concept: Invite a mixture of German and Hollywood celebrities onto a live stage, interview them, and then make them wager whether a number of ordinary Germans can complete a series of stunts. In the show’s current incarnation, if the people successfully complete their stunt, which they perform with utter earnestness, they have the chance of winning a 50,000-euro prize. If the celebrities wager wrong, they are then forced to do something embarrassing, like wear a dumb hat or teach the host how to hula hoop.

Unsurprisingly, this has resulted in some surreal television over the years. Last year, Gerard Butler struggled to keep a straight face while watching a man try to break 50 walnuts with his ass in one minute (the man succeeded). Boxer Vladimir Klitschko once had to wager whether a man could identify the make of several toilet seats simply by sitting on them (he could). An unimpressed Naomi Campbell once had to watch a man try (and fail) to change the wheels on a car while floating above a wind machine. Last year, the show’s host asked 50 Cent what it was like being shot, then made him stand around while a man tried to identify car tires based on their smell (nope).

The show’s other cringe-worthy hallmark is its breathtakingly inane and often impressively tone-deaf interviews, made all the more uneasy by the need for simultaneous translation. In 2012, the show’s smarmy longtime host, Thomas Gottschalk—a man with an impressive resemblance to Willy Wonka—was replaced by the more shellacked and considerably smarmier Markus Lanz. For Hollywood stars used to appearing on “Kimmel” or “Conan,” Lanz’s interview techniques—which often involve commenting on female stars’ appearance—can seem jarringly unpleasant and often sexist. When a baffled-looking Cameron Diaz appeared on the show this spring, Lanz asked her to stand up from the couch so two young boys could get a kiss from “one of the most beautiful women in the world.” She instead gave them high fives and awkwardly and silently sat back down.

And yet, for whatever reason, the show’s peculiar formula has long had a particular appeal in German-speaking world. Perhaps it’s because of the show’s gimmicky twist on celebrity (for once, it’s Denzel Washington watching the plumber from Frankfurt perform, instead of the other way around), or the rare pleasure of watching Germans be silly, or some as yet unexplained secret German passion for wagers, but for much of its three-decade-long run, “Wetten Dass” has been a ratings juggernaut: At its height, 23 million people tuned in throughout Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The Pope once even agreed to come on as a guest (the producers turned him down, because he would only appear via video link).

In recent years, the show has hit tougher times—not only because TV viewership in Germany has splintered, just as it has elsewhere, and driven down ratings, but because the show suffered a remarkable string of bad publicity. In 2010, a man trying to jump over a car fell and broke his spine, ultimately paralyzing him. The accident was broadcast live, and when the paramedics arrived, millions of viewers were treated to the horrified faces of the in-studio audience. And last year, Lanz challenged Augsburg locals to dress up like Jim Knopf, a black German children’s book character. Fans converged on the show in blackface, smiling alongside Boris Becker. Anti-racism groups were, of course, outraged. This spring, animal groups voiced their anger when a poodle was killed mid-show by hitting its head.

On a cultural level, the show has also become a symbol of Germany’s continuing struggles to create good television. As television has emerged internationally as the new medium for sophisticated storytelling, public criticisms of the show, and German TV in general, have sharpened. In 2012, Spiegel published an interview with a top German media critic under the headline “Why are German TV shows so lousy?” Unlike the U.S., television in Germany is highly subsidized by the public. Its two biggest channels ARD and ZDF (which produces “Wetten Dass..?”) are among the best-funded public broadcasters in the world....

a reply to: Grenzerfahrung

How and why did you dig that BS out of the ancient and surreal parts of this forum? Or did you just jump in from a different timeline? It's from 2004, a very incredible source and all in all just wrong.
Someone hand me troll spray please....

a reply to: sminkeypinkey

even Ger,mans on social benefits can easily afford this as their benefits permit a decent life

Not true. People on social benefits don't have to pay and you can't have a decent life here while you're on welfare. Even if you have not to pay this fee for TV.

That's nonsense!

a reply to: Grenzerfahrung

You're arguing with someone who hasn't logged in since 2008 - 6 years ago.

The thread is 10 years old and dead.

a reply to: Peeple

I searched for a topic including Germany and this illegal fee we have to pay. What's your problem? And why is it untrue?

Unfortunately it is true by now.

a reply to: Kandinsky

Well, seems like the thread has raised from the dead. Where is the problem?

But you're right, i didn't notice the posts are that old. Mea Culpa.