The TaxPayers’ Alliance calling out the licence fee is hardly breaking news. It’s been six years since we launched our Axe the Tax campaign, calling for the outdated licence fee to be abolished. While the telly tax remains, Aunty’s annual report released this week had some eye-opening figures.
Half a million fewer people shelled out for a tv licence last year, meaning the number of people paying for the Beeb is now at its lowest level since 1999. Despite the fall in licence fee payers, the BBC still raked in a whopping £3.88 billion from it, up £36 million on the previous year, thanks to the licence now costing £180 a year.
This perhaps explains why they felt able to pay yet more enormous salaries to their so-called ‘top talent’. While households were switching off from our scandal-hit state broadcaster, BBC stars will have been popping the champagne corks. Scott Mills, the former Radio 2 host who was dismissed earlier this year, topped the table taking home between £745,000 and £749,999. Greg Mills, another DJ came in second getting between £440,000 and £444,999, while Stephen Nolan, a presenter on Northern Irish radio rounded out the top three with between £425,000 and £429,999. Naturally John O’Connell was more than happy to speak up for hard working Brits, telling the Telegraph: “Failing public trust, repeated scandals and six-figure salaries for star presenters make it harder than ever to justify this outdated and hated TV tax.”
To make matters worse, rather than face up to the fact people are switching off the BBC due to bias or poor content, there are now calls to force people using streaming services to cough up for the licence fee too. John was bang on when he told Mail readers “Forcing streaming service subscribers to pay the licence fee would be an outrageous expansion of an already deeply unpopular tax” while telling the Sun it was “one of the most bonkers ideas ever concocted.”
I predict a "media access tax" added to every broadband and mobile account, both of which single will exceed the BBC mafiosi TV tax, naturally, plus 20% vat added on top, just to rub it in. No consent, no chance to opt out, just another bloody tax with another tax on top.
ReplyDeleteThey can then say that "they've listened to public concerns" and it'll be splashed all over the compliant and complicit bought-and-paid-for media and that most of the cud-chewing proles will lap up and celebrate as a "victory"
I predict that it will be around £2 a month rising most years to £5 per broadband and mobile account, even if both are with the same provider and if they think they can get away with it, will be added to landline numbers too.
If I've thought of this, you can be certain that the Marxists, commissars, their advisors and "experts" have. And are ready to go.
You read it here first.