Households pay CHF 11.30 less for radio and TV reception
The reception fees for radio and television will become cheaper with immediate effect. The Federal Supreme Court has ruled that the fees collected by Billag were wrongly subject to VAT for years.
In a ruling published on Wednesday, the highest Swiss court ruled in favor of an employee of the Federal Finance Administration. The complainant had refused to pay the reduced VAT rate of 2.5 percent on radio and TV reception fees. According to his own statements, he did this as a private individual. There was no connection between the complaint and his work at the federal government. The complainant's success has direct consequences: The radio and TV reception fee will no longer be subject to VAT from May 1, as announced by the Federal Office of Communications (Bakom) and Billag. As a result, both private households and companies will have to dig less deep into their pockets in future. The elimination of the 2.5 percent VAT rate means a reduction in expenditure of CHF 11.30 per year for each household. The amount to be paid will fall from CHF 462.40 to CHF 451.10 per year. Depending on the category, companies will pay between CHF 14.90 and CHF 34.40 less. "We are thus implementing the ruling of the Federal Supreme Court with immediate effect," wrote Bakom.
Fee without consideration
According to the Lausanne judges, the change in practice is appropriate for various reasons. For example, the fee payer does not receive a direct service from the Confederation. The latter does not accept the fee in order to provide a radio or television program in return. However, such an exchange relationship forms the basis for the levying of VAT. The federal government also does not purchase any programs from the SRG or other providers. Rather, Billag collects the reception fee on behalf of the Confederation in order to subsidize the SRG and other programme providers. These providers therefore receive services from the federal government in order to fulfill a purpose considered worthy of support by law. However, subsidies are not subject to VAT because no specific consideration is expected in return.
Furthermore, the right to receive radio and television programs is part of the freedom of information and is therefore a fundamental right, argues the Federal Supreme Court. For this reason, this right cannot be granted by the federal government in return for the payment of a fee. The Federal Supreme Court compares the reception fee with a tourist tax: the local authority levies the tax on a certain group of people. The revenue is passed on to the spa or tourist associations so that they can provide services that are in the public interest. The taxpayers can use these services, but are not obliged to do so.
VAT again in the future?
The current ruling assesses the current legal situation. In just over six weeks' time, the Swiss people will vote on the revision of the Radio and Television Act (RTVA) passed by Parliament. This should lead to an additional reduction in the reception fee for households to around CHF 400. In addition, companies with an annual turnover of less than CHF 500,000 would be exempt from paying the fee. The revision also provides for an amendment to the Value Added Tax Act, which would allow the levying of value added tax on radio and television reception fees.
television reception fees. It literally states: "[The] levy charged for radio and television is deemed to be taxable remuneration." For this reason, Bakom is of the opinion that the Federal Supreme Court ruling has no influence on the vote on June 14. According to Federal Council spokesperson André Simonazzi, the voting booklet does not need to be changed either. Speaking to the media at the Federal Palace, he reminded them that the ruling was based on current law. However, he also said that the effects of the decision had not yet been clarified in detail.
No decision on reimbursement
In the current ruling, the Federal Supreme Court has not ruled on the issue of refunds. It therefore remains to be seen whether consumers will be refunded the amounts they have paid in excess in recent years. This is precisely what the Swiss Trade Association (sgv), which is fighting against the device-independent reception fee for radio and television, is demanding. The umbrella organization of Swiss SMEs wrote in a communiqué that a total of over CHF 30 million has been collected in excess from around 2.8 million private households since 2011. The liberal Consumer Forum is also demanding a direct refund to consumers. In response to this question, Bakom stated that "any other effects of this ruling" would now be examined in detail together with the Federal Tax Administration. "At the moment we cannot provide any figures" This also applies to the amount of the expected tax losses following the Federal Supreme Court ruling.
