Scrapping TV licence fee could give taxpayers £300 extra in tax-free personal allowance

TV licences are required in the UK to watch or stream programming as it is being broadcast live. The collection of the licence fee is managed by the BBC’s Finance and Business division and goes towards the public broadcaster’s content. As it stands, the licence fee has been frozen and remains at £159 a year but many people believe it should be scrapped entirely in light of the cost of living crisis.

One expert believes that taxpayers could get upwards of £300 in tax-free personal allowance, which currently £12,570.

The TaxPayers’ Alliance is one of the many organisations calling for reform of the BBC licence fee and has been pushed for privatisation of Channel 4 in the past.

Darwin Friend, the group’s policy analyst, spoke exclusively with Express.co.uk about why the country’s relationship with the licence fee should be reconsidered.

Mr Friend explained: “Scrapping the licence fee has several benefits. Mainly, the additional £159 taxpayers would have at the end of every year.

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“Currently, taxpayers must pay this fee to the BBC to access any terrestrial television, regardless of whether they are going to watch the BBC or not, on pain of imprisonment.

“We found that almost three-quarters of a million people could be prosecuted for TV licence evasion by 2027. No other free-to-view channel is funded or charges viewers in this way.

“And the cost is going up, with the licence fee having increased by over nine per cent since 2016. Understandably, these almost annual increases have created a lot of anger towards the licence fee.

“It must be remembered that the cost of the licence fee alone is more than a Netflix and Amazon Prime subscription combined.”

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“This would see the BBC reduced to one television channel, radio station, and online service – ending the in-built advantage the BBC has over its competitors.

“This would also allow the BBC to go back to what it is known for, showing content deemed to be in the ‘public interest’.

“It would be up to the government to decide what that is but could include the type of content you see on BBC News, BBC Parliament, World Service, Radio 4, and BBC Four. Far from ceasing to exist, the BBC would return to showing ‘what it is best at’.”

Alternatively, the expert believes a subscription model could work to the BBC’s benefit as it would allow the broadcaster to operate without traditional advertising, which it is not currently permitted to do.

He added: “Subscription is certainly one option under the part privatisation model, and it could be the route the private part of the BBC chooses.

“By taking this option, the BBC could avoid using advertising to fund itself, like ITV and Channel 4.

“Part of the BBC’s image is that it doesn’t have commercial adverts and a subscription model allows them to raise revenue without having to go against this.”