The government wants Sars to clamp down on mense who don’t pay their TV licences.
A new proposal to ditch the SABC’s TV licences for a ring-fenced tax collected by the SA Revenue Service (Sars) is on the cards as less than a fifth of viewers are paying the annual R265 fee.
According to the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies’ draft White Paper on audio and audiovisual media services and online content safety, which is dated July 2023, the government is considering these proposals to help the public broadcaster better fulfil its mandate.
Satellite television provider MultiChoice is proposing an overhaul of the SABC’s funding model to phase out TV licences and introduce a public broadcasting service levy to be collected by the revenue service.
This is the so-called Nordic model, which is usually a reference to countries such as Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
The department has indicated that this proposed funding model is being considered in the SABC Bill, reports IOL.
In the 2021/22 financial year, the SABC collected a measly R815 million in TV licence revenue, out of the nearly R4.45 billion it billed viewers in the same period.
The SABC also paid R73m to collect the TV licence revenue, according to its annual report.
Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Mondli Gungubele revealed recently that there were a total of 9.2 million accounts with R44.2bn in outstanding balances.
“These balances comprise unpaid invoices and penalties levied for non-payment over several years. At least 5.6 million accounts have been handed over for external debt collection,” said Gungubele, in response to EFF MP Sinawo Tambo’s parliamentary questions.
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