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by qwertox 771 days ago
If it were a tax, couldn't the collected money be used for anything the government sees fit, like fixing potholes?
2 comments

In English we could say the tax is ring-fenced for specific purposes.
Thats a distinction that only exists in German laws. And therefore in German language. That is not a distinction in other languages.
In France we used to have the "Redevance audiovisuelle" which just like in German didn't use the same word. It was removed in 2022 but according to Wikipedia[1], this is what Germany is using. The french version has a European maps with the different sources of financement used in European TV broadcasting services.

Beitrag Wikipédia pages are available in other languages, namely Swedish and Esperanto. The meaning doesn't exactly match German's.

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licence

[2] https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beitrag#/languages

A specific "tax" just for TV/radio exists in many European countries, definitely not just Germany. And in general, there are many tax-like things out there where it's mandatory to pay them in specific circumstances and they go to a specific use.
Nah, this is a thing in Sweden too.