Pet tax in Russia

The topic of taxes on pets is of interest to every Russian who has a pet at home. Today there is a tax in many foreign countries, but we are still at the development stage. From the material in this article, you will learn whether a pet tax law will be introduced and what the consequences of the bill may be.

The first rumors about the introduction of a tax on pets in Russia appeared in 2017, whent compulsory pet registration law... The animals began to be implanted with microchips, which stored information about vaccinations and the owner. The owners paid for the chipping, these expenses were one-time, not involving additional regular payments.

The introduction of the tax this year is intended to prevent pets from being irresponsible. The list includes not only cats and dogs, but also hamsters, chinchillas and rats. Finding out how many animals live in the house will be easy.

According to the MPs, taxation will solve a number of problems. For example, if a dog suddenly bites a person, the owner will not be able to avoid responsibility. However, this is not so easy to prove in practice, because the owner can say that the animal was at home all the time. In addition, this explanation cannot be applied to cats and hamsters that do not leave the home.

The deputies are confident that over time, regular payments will have to be increased. This is explained by the rise in inflation.In addition to chipping and regular maintenance fees, the owner of the animal must pay for the registration and maintenance of the veterinary passport. The deputies hope that the Russians will not be able to give up their pets, and therefore will regularly pay taxes for each of them.

The idea of ​​the law was taken from the example of foreign countries, where today every owner pays taxes for a pet. The deputies propose to spend the collected money on the construction of nurseries, places for walking, as well as on the payment of specialists in the capture of stray animals.

Regardless of how many animals live in a house or apartment, everyone will be microchipped... A microchip with a fifteen-digit number will be injected under the skin. To date, the methods of informing the authorities have also been thought out. It will not be difficult to find out how many pets live in a particular house. They want to fine the cheaters, but they expect to find out the exact data from neighbors, acquaintances, and work colleagues.

It is planned that a new draft law will be introduced this year. The initiative group is going to complete its work in the 3rd quarter of 2019. The public is strongly against the adoption of the new law. Today, opinions are openly voiced that most of the animals will end up on the street after the introduction of the bill.

The authorities estimated that about 30 million cats and 20 million dogs currently live in Russians' homes. For each pet, according to the opinions of the deputies, at least 2,000-4,000 rubles are spent per month (including the purchase of feed, visits to the veterinarian and service). However, they do not think about the fact that many people feed their pets food from their table, and not all animals visit a veterinarian.

No matter how the authorities refer to the current situation in the country's economy, as well as the need to replenish the budget, the problem with the adoption of the law will not be eliminated. Ordinary people do not have money, and therefore it will not work to cover expenditure items that cannot be cut.

In 2018, there were already attempts to introduce a law on a new collection, but this initiative met with fierce resistance. Therefore, they abandoned it for a while. A year earlier, the State Duma committee insisted that the registration of animals be free. Identification could be carried out in different ways (by means of a veterinary passport, tags, collars, bar codes). Today, in most cases, this will be the implantation of a chip under the skin.

However, the law not fully worked out. The deputies do not yet know how to force people not to throw animals en masse into the street if the project is adopted. But the adopted law may affect those who have already chipped pets. They will not be able not to pay tax, since all the data on them is available. They will not be able to throw out the animals, because the found animal will be returned to the owners... And if, for example, a dog has bitten someone at this time, you will have to pay for treatment and pay a fine.

From the point of view of citizenship, such an introduction is overkill. People are already taxed on all sides, which grow regardless of the economic situation in the country. In addition, they pay from their salaries for feed, veterinarians. No funds are allocated for this, and therefore people do not understand what they have to pay for. Animals are not a government service.

You will have to register cats and dogs of all breeds, without exception. In addition to them, the State Duma proposes to impose a tax on the maintenance of small rodents and even parrots. If the owner did not chip the pet before, now it will have to be done, also for his own money (2000 rubles for 1 pet). Aquarium fish, as well as farm animals, will be avoided. Will not affect the taxation of domestic ducks, chickens, pigs, cows, horses.The deputies want to tax exactly those animals that live in city apartments and private houses.

The amounts can be as follows:

• for the maintenance of the dog you will have to pay up to 15,000 rubles a year. (if a toy terrier lives at home, you will have to pay 1200 rubles a year for it, a large breed dog may cost more than the established tariff);
• the authorities will allow to keep a cat in the house for 5000-7000 rubles. in year;
• The situation is more democratic with hamsters: the owner of one individual per year is offered to be taxed in the amount of 120 rubles;
• a chinchilla or a guinea pig will cost more - 800 rubles each. per individual;
• budgerigar was estimated at 600 rubles. in 12 months.

You will have to pay for the rare animals living at home. For example, for a hedgehog, rabbit, and other fur-bearing animals. The possibility of a subsequent chip replacement is not excluded. For example, over time, MPs may feel that they need to microchip a pet with a newer device.

The first to oppose the introduction of a tax on the maintenance of pets were animal advocates. The consequences of the bill can be dire. The scale of disasters may be greater than the MPs imagine. The amount they propose to pay one-time for chipping and annually for upkeep will become sensitive for many Russians.

From the point of view of the authorities, the amount is negligible, but many people today are in a difficult financial situation. The salary level of most of the residents of the Russian Federation living in the regions does not reach 15,000 rubles, pensioners receive much less. This is not enough to support the family, since most of the wages are spent on taxes, food, and getting to and from work. Many will have to go to extreme lengths to get rid of the animal.

To date, the statistics are disappointing. The law on keeping pets has not yet been adopted, and the number of animals thrown out into the street is increasing every month. The tax should apply to every able-bodied person in whose home the pet lives. If the animal is presented to the child, the parents will pay.

Receipts for payment will come monthly, they must be paid at the bank, along with other payments. Medical examination should be regular. On the one hand, this is good, but vaccination and admission cost money, as well as transport, on which you need to take your pet to a specialist.

The law wants to approach everything from a tax perspective. Even the death of an animal will have to be recorded for a fee. Not only to put, but also to deregister will also have to be paid for. In addition, the bill should save those who have dozens of pets and do not follow them from the nightmare living conditions of neighbors. However, not everything is so great.

Not everyone today can feed their pets with professional food. Those who bought food earlier, due to monthly deductions to the state, will transfer the animal to regular food. The decline in the income of the population is a serious sign of the failure of the law in question.

Pets will become a bargaining chip. If a person, before the adoption of the law, does not plead guilty for the fact that his pet, for example, bit a passerby, no law will help. The owner will continue to refuse responsibility, blaming the victim for what happened. People who lead an asocial lifestyle will simply not obey the law.

Only veterinary clinics will be able to benefit from the adoption of the law. They will have a flow of patients, and, consequently, a stable income. But only those who, having weighed all the pros and cons, will be able to afford to leave the animal at home, will go there. Poor pensioners will not be able to stay afloat. Eventually, packs of stray dogs will appear in every settlement.Brutalized with hunger, they will begin to attack people. Cats, parrots, hamsters, rats and even exotic animals will be thrown out into the street. And given that some exotic lovers today keep predatory animals at home, the situation will require tough measures.

The solution of the problem will fall on the shoulders of the common people. Someone will simply shoot animals, trying to ensure safety. People will be afraid to go out. A large number of animals on the streets of cities and small towns will lead to disease outbreaks.

Thus, Calls to accountability with the simultaneous introduction of the tax will turn into a series of new problems. The forced callousness of not only adults, but also children will become a terrible problem.

If in our country an attempt to introduce taxation on the maintenance of animals is still actively discussed, residents of European countries are already paying taxes for their pets. On average, an animal costs its owner 300 euros. However, if this is not a cute cat or a small dog, but, say, a fighting dog, the amount of the analogue is doubled. The countries of the European Union have their own standards. For example, the owner of a pet in Switzerland has to pay 100 euros, in Sweden - 50 euros. Spaniards pay 15 euros, but there is an exception. The tax is not levied on the owners of animals taken from the shelter, as well as guide dogs.

The Dutch have to pay 57 euros for the dog... If there is more than one animal in the house, you have to pay an additional 85 euros for each other. In Germany, for the convenience of accounting, there is a general database of animals. As soon as a toddler or adult animal is purchased, the purchase information is immediately displayed. There are documents on animals in China as well. Abroad, money collected from pet owners is spent on the development of infrastructure for animals. In many countries, there is no such gathering of stray animals. Americans do not pay tax: the deductions fall on the shoulders of manufacturers of industrial feed and other products for animals. But here you have to acquire a license to prove ownership.

Animal taxes have been introduced in Belarus. There is no such bill in Ukraine. However, veterinary control requires each stray dog ​​to be labeled. But if we have not initially worked out a scheme for controlling stray animals, there is no need to talk about order.

The next episode of the Personal Opinion TV show will discuss the tax on pets in Russia.