The case of the TV levy fee on smartphones and computers has been mentioned for several years now. Even if no mention of this measure was made in the 2021 finance bill, the Minister of Culture Roselyne Bachelot said to think about it.
In recent days, the finance bill for 2021 has been presented to the government. Some measures are already controversial, such as the increase in the ceiling of the automobile penalty to 40,000 € next year. Or the marked decrease in the ecological bonus from 2021.
Apart from these measures dedicated to the automotive industry, the law also mentions the case of the TV levy. There is good news and bad news. Let's start with the correct one, the amount of this tax will not increase in 2021. French people in possession of a TV will still have to pay a tax of € 138 in mainland France and € 88 in the French overseas departments and territories.
As for the bad, it is rather a question: why the TV levy is it topical? In 2018, then Minister of Culture Frank Riester said the TV levy would disappear within three years. According to the latest roadmap set by the government, its amount must also drop by a third, before a total elimination scheduled for 2023.
The Minister of Culture is thinking about TV levy on smartphones and computers
In other words, everything points to the imminent or imminent death of the TV levy. However, the question of a possible expansion of its scope to include smartphones and computers remains relevant. In fact, more and more French people are watching television on their smartphone or on their computer. According to statistics from the CSA relayed by Le Parisien in 2019, the French have an average of 5.5 screens (1.5 TV, 1.5 computer, 1.5 smartphone, 0.6 tablet and 0.4 mobile phone).
So many screens that do not bring money to the government and whose taxation could significantly increase the financing of the public service, that is to say France Télévisions, Radio France, Arte, France 24, RFI, Monte Carlo, TV5 Monde and INA. On this point, the Minister of Culture Roselyne Bachelot maintains the status quo: “We are in a process of reflection on this subject”, she declared in the columns of the newspaper Charente Libre.
No clear answer on the subject therefore from the minister, who does not seem ready to take a position on the question like all her predecessors. As a reminder, the finance bill for 2021 provides for an envelope of 70 million euros for public broadcasting, to compensate for the fall in advertising revenue in the sector.