Did you think you were done with TV licenses? Make no mistake, it could well make a comeback in 2025. In any case, this is what an environmentalist deputy proposed to the Assembly last October.
This project marks a break with the old system. Exit the uniform TV license fee of 138 euros, make way for “progressive contribution to the financing of public broadcasting”. This new version would introduce a scale to 11 tranches, with amounts ranging from 0 to 220 euros depending on household resources. A significant change which aims to make the tax more equitable by indexing it to taxpayers’ income.
The exemption threshold would be set at 17,820 euros of reference tax incomewhich means that only the most modest households would escape this contribution. According to INSEE data, this measure would concern around 80% of French householdsa proportion comparable to that of the old fee.
A budgetary necessity
This proposal is not the result of chance. The year 2025 will mark a turning point for the financing of French public broadcasting. The current system, based on VAT, will have to be abandoned due to legislative developments. This new contribution would therefore aim to guarantee stable resources to finance the entire public audiovisual landscape.
There are numerous media involved: France Télévisions (France 2, France 3, France 4, France 5), news channels (Franceinfo, France 24), Radio France stations (France Inter, France Culture, France Bleu), without forgetting ARTE, RFI and the INA. All these actors require long-term funding to maintain their public service mission.
This reform was included in the budget proposals, with the State seeking new revenue. While the government has been saying for months that it wants to spare the majority of households from tax increases, this progressive contribution could impact the budget of many French households.
The final decision will rest with Parliament, but the option is now clearly on the table for discussions, if they resume quickly. The end of the Barnier government indeed opens a period of political uncertainty. If the government will take care of current affairs, no budgetary or tax bill will be passed, unless a special law is put in place. In the meantime, the proposal is made.
- The TV license could return in 2025 in the form of a progressive contribution of up to 220 euros
- The new system would have 11 tax brackets based on income
- This reform would affect 80% of French households, with only the most modest being exempt.
