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Please do not write below the line

(www.bbctvlicence.com)
313 points dcminter | 2 comments | 21 Oct 24 18:42 UTC | HN request time: 0.405s | source
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cooper_ganglia ◴[21 Oct 24 19:34 UTC] No.41907633[source]▶
A "TV License" is one of those things I alway assumed people were making up to satirize the claims of over-regulation & bureaucracy in the UK.

Finding out it was real was a mixture of hilarious and sobering.

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kamaitachi ◴[21 Oct 24 19:43 UTC] No.41907726[source]▶
It’s not just a U.K. thing. Many European countries have something similar, although it might be called something else.

It’s a form of tax that pays for public service broadcasting, including radio stations.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licence#

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busterarm ◴[21 Oct 24 19:58 UTC] No.41907906[source]▶
Yes, but the UK is the only country with a license ridiculous enough to offer you a 50% discount _if you're blind_.
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1. bearbin ◴[21 Oct 24 21:47 UTC] No.41908859[source]▶
The TV license is certainly bit ridiculous, but being legally blind doesn't necessarily mean you can't see at all, just you fall below the legal threshold where it's judged that poor sight will interfere with your day-to-day life. Lots of people registered as blind can still watch the TV just fine even if they won't be able to see the detail.
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2. Aerroon ◴[22 Oct 24 00:05 UTC] No.41909858[source]▶
The threshold is a lot higher than people think. I would be at the level of legal blindness without my glasses. I use my phone without glasses daily. A small laptop screen without glasses would be alright too, but desktop monitors are too big.

Of course, to be considered legally blind, your vision has to be that bad with the best correction available. (Below 20/200)