French TV licence

[cmaguire]

I have a house in France which is currently a holiday home.
The TV is connected to a satellite dish and there is no traditional antenna on the house as I removed it.
The dish is aligned to whichever satellite supplies UK TV (I forget specifically which one that is) and this means I cannot see any French channels.
In order to watch French TV the dish would need realigning and I would lose UK TV so it is fairly obvious to anyone outside the house, as the dish is pointing in a totally different direction to all the French neighbours.

Because I never managed to get a definitive answer, even from the UK expats I know there, I've been paying the licence here but it has arrived again and paying it bugs the hell out of me as I'm paying for a service I cannot use even if I was inclined to do so.

Does anyone know if this is effectively an unavoidable tax on nothing or whether I can stop paying it?

[magooagain]

Any tv in the house means you have to pay the fee. It's normally included in tha tax d'habitation or the tax fonceier. I can never remember which one it is.

[Mike-tf3n0]

I had exactly this situation when we retired out here in 2001, UK digibox and no way to pick up a French signal. I was fudged off, given all sorts of reasons why it was payable etc etc but when I turned 60 it vanished along with the tax d'habitation, as by then we were permanent residents and in the tax system as well as the health system. It may have changed in some small details since then but basically, be over 60 and a full time tax paying resident.

[cmaguire]

It's the declaration that's turned up again.

So it is effectively a tax then on anybody with a TV, even if they only watch DVDs with it.
Based on the fact the TV itself has a receiver in it that COULD be used to receive French channels.
If so, that really feels just like they are stealing the money. Which they have been effectively as they haven't provided me a service of any kind.

[Mike-tf3n0]

Exactly so!

[thefrog]

It would be the same in the UK wouldn't it ? Don't you have to pay a TV licence there even if you own a computer seeing you could be watching iPlayer ? (pretty sure it was being talked about a few years ago).

[Perik Omo]

I got heavily fined when I inadvertently ticked/didn't tick the box on the tax form. They came round in a car and saw that I had a satellite dish and the next thing I knew was that I had a large fine and the licence fee to pay immediately or it was off to court. I too have the dish pointed at the UK satellite and cannot receive French TV.

[Terryg4]

And also note its on each TV , if you have gites.
We got fined a few years back for not declaring the gites, luckily we complained and they dropped the fine, but we now pay 3 per year

Terry

[Fatt McMissile]

Mike-tf3n0 said:

I had exactly this situation when we retired out here in 2001, UK digibox and no way to pick up a French signal. I was fudged off, given all sorts of reasons why it was payable etc etc but when I turned 60 it vanished along with the tax d'habitation, as by then we were permanent residents and in the tax system as well as the health system. It may have changed in some small details since then but basically, be over 60 and a full time tax paying resident.

I wish . You would have needed to fulfil three conditions that included for example, 1 aged over 60, 2 Living alone or with legal partner, 3 RFR below 16500 for couple.

Taxe d'habitation is being phased out for many as the plafond is being raised considerably, reducing by 30% this year, 65% next, and 100% in 2020 if your RFR <43K for a couple this year . Offsets the increased csg that oldies are going to pay........

[cmaguire]

Perik Omo said:

I got heavily fined when I inadvertently ticked/didn't tick the box on the tax form. They came round in a car and saw that I had a satellite dish and the next thing I knew was that I had a large fine and the licence fee to pay immediately or it was off to court. I too have the dish pointed at the UK satellite and cannot receive French TV.

That nails that then.
Robbers.
Outdated wording/thinking on the declaration, but in any event they're not likely to be concerned about updating that and losing themselves some income, and certainly not from foreigners with second homes in this case. They are looking to get more money from us if some of what I've read is true.