I’m from the states and just heard of the concept for the first time. Curious where this came from and how it’s enforced.
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short answer: the BBC.
When it was founded, it was effectively “the British *Government’s* Broadcasting Corporation”, and has acted in this manner as a quasi-governmental organisation for pretty much its whole existence. it was also the ONLY Television network for many years.
as such, it was easy enough for the directors of the BBC to get parliament to pass a law that everyone who wanted to watch TV needed pay a licence fee to fund the programs that the BBC provided.
yes, this is basically a tax, and is currently classed as type of tax.
enforcement is basically up to the BBC, and its basically a case of them proving you have a TV hooked up to receive TV signals but don’t have a licence. As its legally mandated that you pay if your TV is able to recieve, it can become a prosecutable offence, though i dont know of anyone being prosecuted for it (generally they just pay up as the cheapest way out of the situation). the Agents however are NOT police, and hold no special powers of entry or access, so getting proof isn’t always easy.
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