Italy has an interesting approach to funding its state-owned TV company, RAI. While RAI also generates revenue through advertising, a significant part of its funding comes from a licence fee. To address issues of evasion and ensure broader compliance, a few years ago the government came up with a practical, albeit somewhat unpopular, solution.
With the assumption that almost every household in Italy has at least one TV set or other means of watching TV programmes, the licence fee is now integrated into your electricity bill as an automatic add-on. While this method might not be the most popular, it offers a pragmatic solution to minimise licence fee evasion in a way that’s not burdensome for users.
It’s important to note that this arrangement applies specifically to your primary residence, known as prima casa. If you also have a secondary residence, or seconda casa, you won’t be required to pay the licence fee twice.
And if you don’t have a TV set? You can apply for an exemption (if you’d like to do this, I can of course help you! Book your free consultation here). Exemptions are valid for one year – so you’ll have to re-apply every year.
Having said that, the licence fee currently (2024) stands at just €70, which is unlikely to have a significant impact on your budget. So you might well decide that the saving you’d make from the exemption isn’t worth the hassle of applying for it.