> Even if you don't own any screen or audio devices they still make you pay for it. I always fail to see how this isn't pure theft.
The rationales is that you are benefiting from that service (public information) indirectly (other citizens make more informed decisions) even though you don't use it directly.
And, realistically, which household does not own a device that is able to receive a video via a web site?
BTW, you don't need to pay the Rundfunkbeitrag if, among others:
«* you receive BAföG and do not live with your parents, * for recipients of unemployment benefit II or social allowance benefits, * for recipients of social welfare benefits or basic subsistence benefits ("Grundsicherung"), * for recipients of assistance to blind people according to § 72 German Code of Social Law XII.»
Source: https://www.studentenwerk-hannover.de/en/en-social/en-reduct...
That said, it is high time that these kind of levies get converted into normal taxes and progressively taxed like everything else. Why should the €30k/year household contribute as much to the public information as the €200k/year household?