In Russia, local authorities are planning to introduce a tax on dogs
Deputies of Yakutia region in Russia intend to discuss the introduction of a tax or a levy from dog owners to offset the costs of fighting stray animals. This was announced on a weekly meeting by the mayor of Yakutsk, Sardan Avksentiev.
She noted that trapping, quarantine, sterilization, vaccination and chipping of one dog cost 14.5 thousand rubles or around $211, which is more than the allowance for children. “People don’t understand why they spend more money on dogs than on children’s food,” she said.
According to Avksentieva, federal law forces the state and municipalities to be responsible, including financially, for working with stray dogs. However, there is no liability for owners who let animals walk on their own.
The administration of Yakutsk calculated that the regulation of the number of stray animals requires 190 million rubles a year, while in the city and republican budgets for this purpose only 7.4 million is provided.
Earlier, the deputy of the Saratov Regional Duma, Vladimir Esipov, proposed selling stray dogs from Russian cities “in good hands” to China and Korea. He explained that in the regional budgets there are no funds to create conditions in dog shelters, and on the street animals regularly attack people.
However, State Duma deputy Vladimir Burmatov praised the idea of the Yakut authorities to impose a tax or levy on dog owners. This is reported by the newspaper "Izvestia".
According to the deputy, the tax should be taken from the officials who proposed it. He also said that in Russia there will never be such a duty, because otherwise people will start throwing their pets outside.
“Grandmother will estimate that for all her 15 cats they will start to take a tax, and will throw these cats even before it is introduced,” he explained.
Original source: https://bemorepanda.com/en/posts/1583213670-in-russia-local-authorities-are-planning-to-introduce-a-tax-on-dogs