Several city councils are considering introducing a tax on pets

• Many municipalities propose to implement an annual fee for the ownership of pets
• Experts explain that the measure would be viable if there was a «contraprestación por el pago de ese impuesto»
• Bringing your pet to work: the new ‘petfriendly’ policies of many companies

Pets have become the best life partner of the human being. According to the latest data from the INE, 43% of Spanish households have a pet , a figure that only increases over the years. As Maialen Larrinaga and Montse Ávila report in the video, in countries like Germany or Switzerland, pet owners pay an annual fee to have a pet. In several localities in our country, that possibility has again been put on the table, generating a great controversy among the population.

Several town councils in the peninsula have focused these days on pet owners with the aim of implementing a pet tax . This new measure would fully affect pet owners, who also face an average of 1,400 euros in annual expenses for the maintenance of their pet, including veterinary costs, food, cleaning and toys.

Pet owners require services in exchange for paying the tax

This type of tax was tried to be implemented in Zamora five years ago, but it failed. The possibility of introducing this tax, which is already in effect in certain European countries, has brought about a great debate between pet owners and the population in general: «To me, it seems good that they have dogs, but with certain order and maintaining the basic rules of coexistence», explains a neighbor of Bilbao.

Many owners agree with the implementation of the tax, as long as they bring a consideration or service for their pets: «A dog tax seems good to me always and when you have a right , don’t pay to pay» . Álvaro Mateos , president of the Basque College of Veterinarians, explains that the measure «would always be viable and when there was then a countervailing duty on the part of the administrations for the payment of that tax, which is what they have in Germany and other countries. In other words, there are facilities and there are indeed services for those animals”.

Should administrations or animal owners pay the tax?

Many owners wonder if the tax should be paid by their own administrations or by the owners of the pets, generating a great controversy after the disbursement that the Animal Welfare Law involves: «What they have found is an animal welfare law that has to hacer frente a ella by logically originating a disbursement . And now they pretend that people who can have a pet pay for this».

Article 30 of that law, which was implemented in March of last year, states that «in the case of keeping dogs and throughout the life of the animal, the owner must contract and maintain in force a civil liability insurance for damages to third parties, which includes in its coverage the persons responsible for the animal, for an amount sufficient to cover the possible costs derived, which will be established by regulation».

In the short term, the measure is not expected to go ahead, but many municipalities already see it as a possibility in the future.

Source: Redacción digital Noticias Cuatro

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