TV licence: a tax or a service charge?

A see-saw debate which tends to make an appearance annually in most countries has also reared its head in Poland; the question being, should the TV (and radio) licence be chased or taxed? Once that topic is tentatively approached (or the can of worms opened, depending on your point of view) the question tends to evolve to include whether the licence fee actually is of value, and in recent times, can Internet usage also be licenced?

A fairly definitive answer on the first question recently came from the ruling party, Civic Platform (PO). A report in the last couple of days on the Polskie Radio website indicated how politicians feel that it is arguably an “uncollectible tax”. This comes as it’s found that approximately 65% of Polish residents don’t pay the RTV (radio and television) licence fee. There is disappointment in government circles with this figure, as the fee of about €45 per year is one of the lowest levels in Europe. However, the main difficulty in ‘enforcing’ payment is that in Poland, inspectors do not have the authority to enter a home or business premises in order to check if a TV signal is in use. Inspectors need to ask permission to enter, and naturally most owners will refuse permission if they feel that it will result in needing to pay more money for something. Thus the figure of 65% of people not paying makes sense, when estimates say that 45% of households and 98% of business do not pay.

“We’re watching you, watching TV”

A suggestion has then arisen in budget discussions to consider using a model similar to one used in Finland, where the population are taxed slightly further to cover the costs usually incurred by public television and radio. In Poland, about 60% of the licence fee goes to Telewizja Polska with the remaining 40% going to Polskie Radio. The services provided by the television and radio stations need increasing government intervention with subsidisation, meaning that in one sense the taxation approach would seem to make sense, if the government needs to pay public money in at the moment anyways.

The suggestion of trying to impose it as a tax method might also be easier to take in Poland though, rather than other options. The option that tends to be used in the UK and Ireland is of the TV inspector and signal vans doing checks and finding those trying to evade the payment. The is advertising, notification and publication supporting the chase to pay the fee. If the Polish government tried to change the law to allow more detailed inspection, it would probably give too much of a reminder of communist times, with the thought of an inspector having the legal right to enter a home or business to perform a search. And from the Polskie Radio report, the PiS party will oppose attempts to include the licence as a further tax.

“We are broke so we are going to chase you for every possible €uro”

Once the debate on having or paying for an RTV licence arises, the discussion will almost always be swung around to the quality and value of having such public service based broadcasting. Everyone will have their own opinion, but I believe that such public broadcasting will usually fall under the category of ‘You don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone’ – or in other words, it may often seem that there is nothing worth watching or listening to, but it will be the small things you would miss if it was not available, especially those items which you tend to remember from days gone by which trigger fond memories and nostalgia. Thus, while the quality of what is presented might not always be to everyone’s liking, it should probably be seen that as long as the licence fee is reasonable, it gives more value than people will realise.

The topic of RTV licences is not going to rest, especially as how people view TV is evolving. With increasing numbers watching through computers, laptops and other Internet-based connections, trying to enforce payment will get more difficult in all countries. There is also an undercurrent of people who are disposing of their TV sets (for various reasons) and should a government bring in a ‘universal charge’ it will annoy those who get no value for paying for it. This means that the topic of the RTV licence will always be one someone is always annoyed by the setup.

All just an EU propaganda agenda?

President Ronald Reagan Centennial and Poland – A reflection on 21 years.

Maybe it is the cold weather here in Warsaw and the fact I was walking from a modern warm coffee shop in Centrum to the area of the US Embassy to view yet another statue of former US President Ronald Reagan unveiled on November 22nd (I was at unveiling of another in Budapest in June). As I walked I started to think back 20+ years to a time when Poland was still behind a wall (of Iron) and the idea of sitting in a coffee shop reading western papers while drinking coffee from Costa Rica was maybe a very distant dream for Poles. Weather and smell are two things that remind me of time and places. The first time I remember being really cold (being from California) was when I arrived in W. Germany (FRG) as a young US Army PFC in November 1987 to begin my Germany assignment. Ronald Reagan was a president embattled both with Iran-Contra and engaging Gorbachev in summits while the mujahedeen in Afghanistan were shooting down Soviet helicopters with American missiles. Books like Hunt for Red October and Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy along with movies like Red Dawn were popular. My memories of Poland from that time are of Solidarity constantly in the news. I know Pres. Reagan gave a famous Christmas speech in 1981 but I don’t remember it amongst all the other TV news of that period.

In 1987 the Iron Curtain was strong and the idea of anything different was hard to contemplate. As soldiers, we trained for WARSAW PACT tanks coming through the Fulda Gap and to survive NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical) warfare. From my perspective listening in on the Soviets and her allies every day was an electronic war of cat and mouse, looking from light into darkness. Then suddenly it was over. I remember seeing trains coming through German train stations at the end of 1989 and/or early 1990 full of cheering Germans (west and east)… the wall was down…. the Iron Curtain that divided nations and peoples was no more.

Even so, the idea of me someday visiting Poland or other Eastern Block countries was still very much an unattainable dream (I made my first visit on a weekend trip to Czechoslovakia in 1992 as a college student). This year, 2011, is being celebrated in many places as the Centennial (100 years since his birth) of President Ronald Reagan. Many people credit President Reagan’s leadership and tough stance toward the Soviet Union as ultimately bringing about the collapse of the USSR and helping to free Poland (I do know Pope JP II played a big role too).

I invite you as readers of Polandian to comment on 21 years since the crack appeared in the Iron Curtain in Berlin (I do know Poland played a big role going back even further). All these years later does the memory or Pres. Reagan mean anything to you? What was your life (or your parents) like back then? Do other public figures such as the Pope or your politicians at the time hold more prominence in your memories? Do you feel you life is better now than if events of 1989 had not occurred the way they did?

I have asked some of my students and local friends about Reagan, the fall of the wall, and what memories they have. Surprisingly the comments have ranged from life is to busy apathy to hostility towards my question and the United States. I get the impression in today’s younger generation no one really thinks much about back then and the events that unfolded and how things were. I do apologize in advance if my Americanized perspective offends anyone, that is not my intention.

"Honey, I forgot to duck."

(Guest writer Mochafueled, after many visits to Poland is currently in Warsaw and trying to make Poland home for a while. Mostly he is exploring all the best locations for eating potato pancakes and goulash while sharing a few words of American English with students).

Martial Law: A Positive Trigger?

This week marks 30 years since the rule of martial law was imposed in Poland. It was enforced from December 13th 1981 to July 22nd 1983, and even with the passing of a few decades, it is still a subject evoking strong feelings and emotions. It also does not help that the primary player of that period, General Wojciech Jaruzelski, is still alive and is one of the remaining symbols of communism in Poland, having been the Polish Prime Minister from 1981 to 1985 and head of state from 1985 to 1990.

To summarise the martial law period in Poland for those that might be unfamiliar with it, it was as follows. Pro-democracy movements such as Solidarność were gaining momentum throughout 1980 and 1981. The communist leaders initially wanted to show leniency and be open to some discussion with the agitators; however as time went by, they began to realise that their authority was being challenged. Fear grew that the disruptions would develop into something more revolutionary such as had happened in Budapest in 1956 or in Prague in 1968. In both instances, Soviet military intervention had been used to quell efforts at democratising the countries. In both examples, the Warsaw Pact had been invoked to justify sending in the troops. In 1980 and 1981, the Polish leaders including General Jaruzelski began negotiations with Moscow to use the same option to force authority once more in Poland.

However, it turned out the Soviets were unwilling (for the first time) to step in and it meant the Polish leaders had to take their own action. A ‘state of war’ (stan wojenny) was declared. While there was no actual war or external threat, the authorities used the premise of escalating internal threats as a reason to implement martial rule. The following speech made by Jaruzelski on December 13th 1981 shows him trying to pull the patriotic heart-strings of the public:

“The atmosphere of conflicts, misunderstanding, hatred causes moral degradation, surpasses the limits of toleration. Strikes, the readiness to strike, actions of protest have become a norm of life. Even school youth are being drawn into this. Yesterday evening, many public buildings remained seized. The cries are voiced to physical reprisals with the ‘reds’, with people who have different opinions.
The cases of terror, threats and moral vvendetta, of even direct violence are on the rise. A wave of impudent crimes, robberies and burglaries is running across the country. The underground business sharks’ fortunes, already reaching millions, are growing. Chaos and demoralization have reached the magnitude of a catastrophe. People have reached the limit of psychological toleration. Many people are struck by despair. Not only days, but hours as well are bringing forth the all-national disaster.” He then finished by reciting the Polish national anthem.

Martial rule imposed tough times on the Polish people. Demonstrators were summarily arrested without charge, pro-democracy groups were banned, curfews imposed and communications disrupted by telephone lines being cut and post being censored. As some Polish people tried to rebel against the system, it caused further crackdowns. Estimates of over 100 deaths in the time of martial law have been suggested. Even for those that did not rebel and suffer directly, there were detrimental effects for all involved, through food rationing, forcing 6 day working weeks, military courts and a ‘verification’ system used to ensure people were not anti-authoritarian.

However, it seems that this could be seen as the nadir of the Communist period in Poland – a sort of ‘darkest moment just before the dawn’ leading to the sunlight of democracy. Surviving such a period would have given confirmation to those groups such as Solidarność that they were on the right path. The shadow of the Soviet Union was also lessening, so it could be seen that in the battle for Polands future, it would be ‘good’ Poles against ‘bad’ Poles in a battle for hearts and minds without waiting to see when the troops from Moscow would land to support the government. It’s also possible that the Polish people themselves would have had more belief in themselves to be the change they wanted to see. If this was the worst that the government could throw at them, then why can’t democracy be forced? The art of kombinować would have ensured that people survived (maybe even thrived) despite difficulties.

Thus, it should be a case that the 30th anniversary of martial rule should be celebrated as a trigger for something more for Poland, rather than as a symbol of the worst of communist times.