ARD ZDF Deutschlandradio Beitragsservice

Last updated

ARD ZDF Deutschlandradio Beitragsservice
Industry Collecting society
PredecessorGebühreneinzugszentrale (GEZ)
Founded1976 (as GEZ)
Headquarters
Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia
,
Germany
Area served
Germany
Key people
Stefan Wolf (CEO)
Revenue€168 million [1]  (2016)
Owners ARD, ZDF, Deutschlandradio
Number of employees
1,010 [1]  (2016)
Website www.rundfunkbeitrag.de OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

The ARD ZDF Deutschlandradio Beitragsservice (English: ARD ZDF Deutschlandradio contribution service [2] ), commonly referred to simply as GEZ, is the organization responsible for collecting the television and radio fee (Rundfunkbeitrag) from private individuals, companies and institutions in Germany.

Contents

The Beitragsservice is headquartered in Cologne and is an unincorporated joint organisation of Germany's public broadcasting institutions ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio , as well as their public-law affiliates. Mandatory licence fees are set in the Rundfunkfinanzierungsstaatsvertrag (English: State Treaty on the Financing of Broadcasting). Since 2013, every private household in Germany has been required to pay these fees, regardless of whether the household actually has the capability to receive the broadcasts themselves. [3] Exceptions can be made for individuals with low income or health issues. Until 2013, the organisation was officially known as GEZ, short for Gebühreneinzugszentrale der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (English: Fee Collection Center of the Public Broadcasting Companies in the Federal Republic of Germany) and it is still commonly known by this name. The organisation collaborates with German civil registration offices to enforce the collection of the fees.

Organization

The former logo, used until 2010 GEZ Logo.svg
The former logo, used until 2010

The Beitragsservice is an association of administrations subject to public law and has no legal capacity. It operates as a joint data center of the ARD state broadcasting institutions, the ZDF and Deutschlandradio , and administers the collection of licence fees. It was created by an administrative agreement.

The Beitragsservice is therefore not a legal entity of its own, but a part of the public broadcasting institutions. However, the Beitragsservice is a public authority in the material sense according to the Administrative Procedures Act of the Federal Republic of Germany (VwVfG), because it conducts public administration tasks. It conducts these tasks on behalf of the state broadcasting institutions.

Tasks

Since January 1, 1976, the Beitragsservice (known as GEZ until 2013) has collected Rundfunkgebühren (broadcast licence fees) as set in the Rundfunkfinanzierungsstaatsvertrag . This had previously been the responsibility of Deutsche Bundespost , the West German federal post office. The GEZ's tasks in detail were:

On December 31, 1976, 18.5 million TV sets and 20.4 million radios were registered in the Federal Republic of Germany.

Planning of licence fees

The Beitragsservice has overall control over the planning of licence fee revenues from the supply of public-legal broadcasting in the Federal Republic of Germany. Based on preliminary work by the Beitragsservice, licence fees are planned for a period of five years in advance or the current fee period by the Arbeitsgruppe Gebührenplanung (license fee planning work group), which is a subgroup of the Finanzkommission der Rundfunkanstalten (Financial Commission of Broadcasting Institutions). The managing director of the Beitragsservice is the chairperson of the Arbeitsgruppe Gebührenplanung.

Charging of licence fees

The licence fee for radio, TV and new media amounted to €18.36 per month since August 2021. [4] [5]

On June 9, 2010, state governors decided that Heidelberg University Professor Paul Kirchhof's model of a flat-rate household licence fee would be introduced in 2013. The model set out the collection of licence fees as a lump sum per household, regardless of the number of broadcast reception devices present, or even, if any devices are present at all. This required that the 'GEZ' be reorganised, and that broadcast licence fee commissioners are no longer be employed by state broadcasting institutions. The monthly fee per household became the amount previously payable for television reception. Fee payers who previously only registered a radio or a "novel broadcast reception device" but no TV set, saw their licence fee increase by 212% (from €5.76 to €17.98), however households which previously had to pay multiple licence fees started to pay less.

Since 1 January 2013, the exemption for people with disabilities was replaced by a one-third fee. Under the previous regulations, the deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers who were legally deaf had been exempt. However, they started to contribute in 2013 in spite of relatively few hours of TV programming with closed-captioning. Sign Dialog, the working group of German Association of the Deaf, has nominated that they are more willing to pay the full rate once the milestone of 100% closed-captioning programming has been reached.

In August 2021, the fee was raised from €17.50 per month [6] to €18.36 per month.

License fee revenues and administrative costs

In 2010, the GEZ collected €7.65 billion in licence fees for state broadcasting institutions. Collection costs amounted to €160.5 million, which is about 2.13% of total revenue or €3.83 per participant. Additional costs are generated in the state broadcasting institutions by the so-called Beauftragtendienste (commissioner services), those expenditures for licence fee collection amounted to €184.97 million in 2007, according to the ARD 2008 yearbook.

According to its 2010 annual report, the GEZ employed 1,148 people. According to its website, the Beitragsservice still employs around 1,000 people. [7]

In 2016 the total sum of licence fees collected amounted to €7,978,041,425.77 thereof a revenue for Beitragsservice itself of €167,954,892.36. [1]

Elicitation and storage of data

The state broadcaster and the Beitragsservice can store and administer fee payer data needed to collect the fee. The Federal Statistical Office of Germany counts 39 million private households, while the GEZ in 2004 held 41.2 million data sets of fee payers. These included 2.2 million data sets of fee payers who de-registered ownership of devices which can receive radio/television. GEZ had one of the most comprehensive databases on the population of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Another source of data are resident registration offices, which forward new registrations and changes of registration to the Beitragsservice. [8] In 2002, German registration authorities transferred over 12 million data sets to the GEZ.

To identify non-payers, the GEZ expanded its database with data purchased from commercial address vendors. This is allowed under the terms of Rundfunkstaatsvertrag.[ citation needed ]

Resistance

Some regional courts have ruled that enforcement is illegal (Zwangsvollstreckung, forced seizure of property, for example directly from bank account registered with the tax office or from pay) to recover the amount due contribution (which is not tax), on the grounds that the Beitragsservice is a private organisation and not part of the state. [9]

People have been jailed for not paying the fee. [10] [11] One was later released after the charges were dropped due to criticism from both public and private media. [12]

Related Research Articles

A television licence or broadcast receiving licence is a payment required in many countries for the reception of television broadcasts or the possession of a television set. In some countries, a licence is also required to own a radio or receive radio broadcasts. In such countries, some broadcasts are funded in full or in part by the licence fees. Licence fees are effectively a hypothecated tax to fund public broadcasting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ZDF</span> German public-service television broadcaster

ZDF, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen, is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Launched on 1 April 1963, it is run as an independent nonprofit institution, and was founded by all federal states of Germany. ZDF is financed by television licence fees and advertising revenues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ORF (broadcaster)</span> Austrian national public broadcaster

Österreichischer Rundfunk is an Austrian national public broadcaster. Funded from a combination of television licence fee revenue and limited on-air advertising, ORF is the dominant player in the Austrian broadcast media. Austria was the last country in continental Europe after Albania to allow nationwide private television broadcasting, although commercial TV channels from neighbouring Germany have been present in Austria on pay-TV and via terrestrial overspill since the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ARD (broadcaster)</span> Group of German public broadcasters

ARD is a joint organisation of Germany's regional public-service broadcasters. It was founded in 1950 in West Germany to represent the common interests of the new, decentralised, post-war broadcasting services – in particular the introduction of a joint television network.

Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln, shortened to WDR, is a German public-broadcasting institution based in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office in Cologne. WDR is a constituent member of the consortium of German public-broadcasting institutions, ARD. As well as contributing to the output of the national television channel Das Erste, WDR produces the regional television service WDR Fernsehen and six regional radio networks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dresden TV tower</span>

The Fernsehturm Dresden-Wachwitz is a TV tower in Dresden, Germany. It is situated on the Wachwitzer Elbhöhen and serves as a transmitting tower for television and radio broadcasts. Due to its visibility over large distances and its unusual form, it has become a landmark of Dresden and the Elbe Valley. Its address is 37 Oberwachwitzer Way, Dresden.

Südwestrundfunk, shortened to SWR, is a regional public broadcasting corporation serving the southwest of Germany, specifically the federal states of Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate. The corporation has main offices in three cities: Stuttgart, Baden-Baden and Mainz, with the director's office being in Stuttgart. It is a part of the ARD consortium.

Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk, shortened to MDR, is the public broadcaster for the federal states of Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt in Germany. Established in January 1991, its headquarters are in Leipzig, with regional studios in Dresden, Erfurt and Magdeburg. MDR is a member of the ARD consortium of public broadcasters in Germany.

Deutschlandfunk is a public-broadcasting radio station in Germany, concentrating on news and current affairs. It is one of the four national radio channels produced by Deutschlandradio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bayerischer Rundfunk</span> Public-service radio and television broadcaster based in Munich

Bayerischer Rundfunk, shortened to BR, is a public-service radio and television broadcaster, based in Munich, capital city of the Free State of Bavaria in Germany. BR is a member organization of the ARD consortium of public broadcasters in Germany.

Television in Germany began in Berlin on 22 March 1935, broadcasting for 90 minutes three times a week. It was home to the first regular television service in the world, named Fernsehsender Paul Nipkow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hessischer Rundfunk</span> Public broadcaster of the German state of Hesse

Hessischer Rundfunk, shortened to HR, is the German state of Hesse's public broadcasting corporation. Headquartered in Frankfurt, it is a member of the national consortium of German public broadcasting corporations, ARD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norddeutscher Rundfunk</span> Public service broadcaster in Northern Germany

Norddeutscher Rundfunk, commonly shortened to NDR, is a public radio and television broadcaster, based in Hamburg. In addition to the city-state of Hamburg, NDR broadcasts for the German states of Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Schleswig-Holstein. NDR is a member of the ARD organisation.

Radio Bremen, shortened to RB is Germany's smallest public radio and television broadcaster and the legally mandated broadcaster for the city-state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. With its headquarters sited in Bremen, Radio Bremen is a member of the consortium of German public broadcasting organizations, ARD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deutschlandradio</span> German national public radio broadcaster

Deutschlandradio is a national German public radio broadcaster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg</span> German national broadcaster based in Berlin and Potsdam

Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg, commonly shortened to RBB, is an institution under public law for the German states of Berlin and Brandenburg, based in Berlin and Potsdam. RBB was established on 1 May 2003 through the merger of Sender Freies Berlin (SFB) and Ostdeutscher Rundfunk Brandenburg (ORB), based in Potsdam, and is a member of the Association of PSBs in the Federal Republic of Germany (ARD).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saarländischer Rundfunk</span> German public radio and television broadcaster

Saarländischer Rundfunk, shortened to SR, is a public radio and television broadcaster serving the German state of Saarland. With headquarters in the Halberg Broadcasting House in Saarbrücken, SR is a member of the ARD consortium of German public-broadcasting organizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deutschlandsender</span> German radio station

Deutschlandsender, abbreviated DLS or DS, was one of the longest-established radio broadcasting stations in Germany. The name was used between 1926 and 1993 to denote a number of powerful stations designed to achieve a nationwide coverage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deutscher Fernsehfunk</span> State television broadcaster in the German Democratic Republic

Deutscher Fernsehfunk was the state television broadcaster in the German Democratic Republic from 1952 to 1991.

Gez or GEZ may refer to:

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Jahresbericht 2016" [Annual Report 2016](PDF). rundfunkbeitrag.de (in German). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 February 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  2. ↑ "The contribution service of ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio". rundfunkbeitrag.de. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
  3. ↑ "What is the GEZ/Rundfunkbeitrag, and why should I pay it?". AllAboutBerlin.com. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  4. ↑ "Der Rundfunkbeitrag - Beitragsanpassung". www.rundfunkbeitrag.de. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  5. ↑ "What is the TV tax (Rundfunkbeitrag), and why should I pay it?". allaboutberlin.com. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  6. ↑ "Der Rundfunkbeitrag - Keine Anpassung des Rundfunkbeitrags zum Jahreswechsel". www.rundfunkbeitrag.de. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  7. ↑ "Der Rundfunkbeitrag - Der Beitragsservice". www.rundfunkbeitrag.de. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  8. ↑ "Der Rundfunkbeitrag - Informationen zum Meldedatenabgleich". www.rundfunkbeitrag.de. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  9. ↑ Kramper, Gernot. "Niederlage für GEZ-Eintreiber: Zwangsvollstreckung ist unrechtmäßig" [Defeat for GEZ collectors: Enforcement is illegal]. Stern (in German).
  10. ↑ "GEZ-Verweigerer: Mann (53) sitzt seit Monaten im Gefängnis, weil er Rundfunkbeitrag nicht zahlt". inFranken.de (in German). Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  11. ↑ Meier, Christian (6 April 2016). "Rundfunkbeitrag: Wer bekommt Befreiung, welche Strafe droht?". DIE WELT (in German). Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  12. ↑ ""GEZ-Rebellin" wird nach 61 Tagen aus Haft entlassen" ["GEZ Rebel" is released from custody after 61 days]. Spiegel Online (in German). 5 April 2016.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to ARD ZDF Deutschlandradio Beitragsservice at Wikimedia Commons

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.