In Germany, a tax on dogs allows the country to collect several hundred million euros each year, and more and more over the years. France could follow this example, not to mention that such a tax has already been implemented, in a certain way, under the Empire.
© UNSPLASH
– Berliners, for example, have to pay 120 euros for one dog and 180 euros for two dogs, each year
Will France once again follow the model German ? The idea is starting to gain ground for a very specific idea, reports Les Echos : the taxation of our small four-legged animals, more precisely our dogs. Because the example of our Germanic neighbors may seem quite tempting. Set by cities and towns, this tax generated 420 million euros in revenue last year in Germany. Either a 40% increase in ten years. Enough to give ideas at a time of a heated debate on the 2025 budget and potential savings.
Berliners, for example, have to pay 120 euros for one dog and 180 euros for two dogsevery year. Everything also depends on the breed of the canine: a Rottweiler, for example, costs up to 1000 euros per year. This tax allows take responsibility THE owners by registering them on specific lists, which attest that they take good care of a dog and that this therefore involves costs in the long term. This is also a protection for the safety of passers-by: in the event of an attack or a potentially dangerous dog, it is easier to trace it and identify the owners.
Why it is not recommended to place an AirTag on your pet
Jacques Chirac was almost taxed
THE guide dogs are however exempt of this tax. Like any tax, it is subject to attempts to fraud. A quarter of Germans would have committed fraud, which is saying something: there are ten million owners dogs there. In France, contrary to what one might believe, this idea has already been exploited in the past and has remained in place for a long time. It is neither more nor less than Napoleon Bonaparte who set up a tax similar, for fight against rabies. We had to wait 1971150 years after the death of the emperor, so that it could be definitively suppressed.
In 1998the Senate had considered having the President of the Republic at the time contribute, Jacques Chiracwho was then the happy owner of three dogs: Nemo, obviously, as well as two Tazis greyhounds offered by the president of Kazakhstan. France counts 7.6 million dogs ; a tax on canines could therefore be a source of significant revenue for the state. Following Germany’s example, this would represent several cmillions of additional euros. Enough to partially relieve the state’s bloodless finances.
