A fee does government collects is tax, if it just mandates to be collected by a non-governmental org is not tax. Government does not get involved in collecting

A fee does government collects is tax, if it just mandates to be collected by a non-governmental org is not tax. Government does not get involved in collecting this fee except for having a law that an organization(ARD ZDF Deutschlandradio Beitragservice = joint contribution service for ARD ZDF and DR) can collect fees from every household that uses any kind of broadcaster/receiver devices. It does not pass through the German government so it is not a tax. More info: https://politics.stackexchange.com/questions/27856/why-is-the-german-gez-a-fee-and-not-a-tax/27860#27860 https://politics.stackexchange.com/questions/27856/why-is-th...