> The term "TV License" is 1000% more offensive and outrageous, to my Canadian ears, than "TV Tax" would be. >A "license" is a permit from the government to do

> The term "TV License" is 1000% more offensive and outrageous, to my Canadian ears, than "TV Tax" would be. >A "license" is a permit from the government to do or use something, and carries the implication that it's something that can be denied. In Canada you can't have certain basic freedoms, even without a licence. (Certain drawn pornography or even dolls are examples). I don't mean to say that the situation in the UK is any better; I agree that the "TV license" phrasing is bad. It goes to show that arguably many such countries (Canada, Aus, NZ, UK) have no libertarian (by this I mean civil liberties) core or basis, as the US, I would argue, does.