Archive notice: This article was originally published on December 12, 2007. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Otto’s office confirmed a corresponding report by the «Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung» on Tuesday. According to it, from the beginning of the obligation to pay fees on January 1 through November 30, 4.016 million euros for Internet PCs were received by the Fee Collection Centre (GEZ). Of this, 1.023 million euros came from private households and 2.993 million from commercial businesses.
Otto took these figures as an opportunity to call for the abolition of the obligation to pay fees for computers. He pointed out that the additional revenue amounted to less than one thousandth of the fee revenue of more than seven billion euros. In addition, he renewed his party’s demand for a fundamental reform of the «completely anachronistic» fee system linked to receiving devices. The FDP calls for a general flat-rate media levy.
The level of revenue is in the order of magnitude of GEZ expectations. Large business associations that had protested against the new obligation to pay fees last year, by contrast, expected additional burdens in the triple-digit millions.
