Pet Dogs to be Taxed in this Indian City

Bhopal: Owning a pet dog will invite taxes in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar city. The urban body of Sagar has decided to impose tax on inhabitants of the city, who have dogs as pets. All the 48 councilors of the Sagar urban body voted unanimously to tax the pet dogs for the “security and cleanliness” of the city residents.

This new law of Sagar Municipal Corporation is expected to come into effect in April this year.

It is alleged that the defecation of pet dogs makes public places dirty. Corporators from all the municipal wards of Sagar have unanimously resolved for strict registration, and vaccination of dogs as well as levying tax on those owning pet dogs.

But pet dog owners alleged that the tax on dogs was unjustified. They wanted the municipal corporation to allocate space where dog owners could relieve their dogs. If the corporation wants us to pay tax for keeping dogs, they should give us a garden or space where we can relieve them, they argued.