The current fee (also referred to as ‘tax’) of 335 francs a year per household will drop to 312 francs by 2027, and then to 300 francs from 2029, the Federal Council announced on Wednesday. 

The main goal of this reduction is to alleviate the financial burden that the license fee places on many households and businesses alike.

However, there is another reason for this move as well.

This measure is also a concession of sorts to the “200 francs is enough” initiative launched by some political parties, which want to cut the fee even more significantly than the government does.

This will not be the first time this tax is reduced: it fell from the original 451 to 365 francs in 2019, and to the current 335 in 2021.

What is this fee anyway?

Many foreigners who move to Switzerland are surprised to discover that they are automatically charged a television and radio license fee — even if they don’t own either.

This fee is compulsory for most households, though some can be exempted  from it (see below). The amount of 335 francs is the same for all private homes, regardless of how many people live there or how many TV sets they have.

The invoice is automatically sent out once a year — unless you opt for quarterly billing —by a company called SERAFE, which collects this fee on behalf of the government from private households. The Federal Tax Administration is responsible for collections from businesses.

Where does this money go?

The 1.37 billion francs collected annually is used to fund public broadcasters like the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation and other TV and radio stations across Switzerland.

“In this way, the public service will be guaranteed in all parts of the country and democracy will be strengthened; the entire country and all its inhabitants will benefit”, according to the Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM), which is responsible for the scheme.

This map shows which stations in your area are subsidised by the government:

Image by OFCOM

Who is exempted from paying this fee?

Several categories of households are not subject to this tax:

• Households with persons who receive supplementary Old Age, Survivors’ and Invalidity insurance benefits from the federal government
• Households with no means of receiving radio, and have no computer, no tablet, no smartphone, and no car radio (admittedly a very limited number of people)
• Households of deaf-blind people, provided that there are no people liable for the fee living in the same household
• Households of diplomats