Chinese legislator proposes dog tax

CHINA: A Chinese lawmaker has proposed a “dog tax” to help discourage skyrocketing ownership of the pets and pay for faeces clean-up and rabies prevention, state media reported Monday.

Dog ownership is on the rise in China as urbanites find room in their increasingly comfortable lives for the status symbol of a pet, and legislation is needed to protect the interest of the rest of society, said Jiang Deming, a deputy to the National People’s Congress, Xinhua news agency reported.

The revenue raised can help cities clean up the ever-present dog waste that litters the sidewalks of cities such as the capital, Beijing, said Jiang, a representative from the eastern province of Jiangsu, during a session of the NPC, China’s parliament.

He added that dangerous or large dogs should be banned in urban areas.

Late last year, Beijing authorities decreed that each household could have only one dog and that dogs taller than 35 centimetres (14 inches) were banned.

Beijing, Tuesday, AFP