What happens if you don’t pay your TV license in South Africa? It’s a question that’s on a number of people’s mind. The country’s laws mandate that everyone who possesses a TV needs to have a license. From a moral stand point, you need to pay up to ensure that your favorite programming continues to be aired. TV license payments are what keep SABC radio and television channels going. So, what happens if you don’t pay?
Consequences of not paying your TV license
It’s important for all South Africans to pay their TV and radio license. The following is what happens if you don’t pay your TV license;
- You will be charged a penalty of 10% per month. This penalty will rise to a maximum of 100% per annum.
- The SABC may also engage the services of debt collectors in the event that your account remains unpaid. In that case, you may have to pay even more. You may have to pay collection fees to the debt collectors, as an example.
- TV license payments are mandated by the law. Should you not pay yours, you may be taken to court and fined R500. You may also be sent to prison for up to 6 months.
You should pay your TV licenses
That’s the answer to the question, what happens if you don’t pay your TV licenses. The consequences can be dire. The amount to be paid is not too much. In fact, you can opt to pay R28 per month.
However, it has been noted that a lot of people in South Africa do not pay their TV licenses. In fact, it has been reported that there are over 9.2 million South Africans out there who haven’t been bothering keeping up with their payments.
As a result, SABC is owed over R44.2 billion in unpaid fees. In fact, over 87% of people do not bother paying their licenses, which is a massive figure. It’s probably the reason why a proposal has been made for a TV license tax.
Truth of the matter is, almost everyone has a TV or a radio. It makes sense therefore to collect money as a tax rather than waiting for people to pay up on their own. Better collection of revenue will, hopefully, mean better programming all around.
Summary
This post was dedicated to showing you what happens if you don’t pay your TV license in South Africa. It was noted that everyone in the country is required by law to have a license, as long as they have a TV. However, the majority of people out there do not bother making their payments. It’s the reason why there is now a proposal that license fees be deducted in the form of a tax.
Here are the SABC license contact details