There is big outrage by companies on the introduction of broadcasting fees for company computers linked to the Internet from January 1st 2007. Many companies are threatened by multiple charges. Small entities or one-man companies will in future have to pay triple fees: as private person, for the company car and for the computer in their offices. In total this will amount to 474.96 Euro each year. Even worse:
60 percent of industrial and trade companies and 10 percent of craft businesses have one or more offices with personal computers linked to the Internet. This will lead to additional charges given that for each office separate fees will have to be paid. For this reason, as a urgent measure, the association of German chambers of commerce (DIHK) together with the Confederation of Trade (ZDH) call for a prolongation of the fee moratorium on computers linked to the Internet. How little justified these fees are and how big an outrage they cause is underlined by a joint opinion poll (we already reported) carried out by DIHK and ZDH. The findings of the survey are now available in a detailed form and can also be downloaded. 