The Public Service Broadcasting Bill 2009 has recently been Gazetted, and deals with various issues, including funding for development broadcasting and establishing a ‘Public Service Broadcasting Fund’.<\/p>\n
The Public Service Broadcasting Fund will comprise personal income tax, money appropriated by parliament, contributions from broadcasting services licensees, contributions from business and ‘money accruing from any other source’.<\/p>\n
The new bill calls for TV license fees to be scrapped<\/a>. Bad news for people without TV licenses is that existing TV licenses will remain valid<\/a>, and therefore payable, until the end of the financial year when the new broadcasting act comes into force. Money owed to the SABC in terms of TV licenses will also remain valid until fully paid up.<\/p>\n Business Day has now revealed that there will be an increase of up to 1% in personal income tax to replace the TV license fees. “A tax of up to 1% would be imposed on taxpayers above their personal income tax to assist broadcasting,” Business Day quoted the Department of Communications’ DG Mamodupi Mohlala as saying.<\/p>\n