Government and National Assembly Considering Pet Ownership Tax
Expected to Reduce Pet Abandonment
Strong Opposition from Pet Owners Feared
The government is reportedly considering imposing a holding tax on pets such as dogs and cats. Although the purpose is to secure funds to address issues like pet abandonment, strong opposition from pet owners is expected due to the imposition of a tax that has not been levied before.
According to the government and the National Assembly on the 22nd, during the establishment process of the '3rd Comprehensive Animal Welfare Plan' set to be implemented in January next year, the idea of taxing pet owners is being discussed. Currently, a subcommittee composed of private members is known to be reviewing the effectiveness and methods of introducing such a tax to secure necessary funds for pet-related policies. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the competent authority, stated, “Various policy options are being reviewed mainly by private members,” and added, “The government has not yet decided on the policy direction.”
The main reason for considering a pet holding tax is the burden of policy costs. According to the 2020 Population Census conducted by Statistics Korea, the number of households raising pets is 3,129,000, accounting for 15% of the total 20,927,000 households. The costs incurred for pet waste management and protection of abandoned animals are borne by all citizens. Accordingly, there have been continuous calls to have the citizens who benefit from government policies bear the related policy costs.
If the holding tax is introduced, it is also expected to reduce pet abandonment. The logic is that if the financial burden of raising pets increases, people will make more careful decisions about whether to keep them. According to the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, the total number of lost and abandoned animals last year reached 113,072. A representative from an animal protection organization lamented, “There are many voices questioning whether we should bear the tax burden for dog and cat welfare when welfare for people is still insufficient.” Netizens criticized, saying, “They said pets are not objects, so how does it make sense to impose a holding tax on them as if they were objects?”
However, since strong opposition from pet owners who would have to bear additional taxes is expected, actual implementation may not be easy. There are concerns that the establishment of a 'pet tax' could rather increase animal abandonment. Meanwhile, as an alternative to the pet holding tax, the idea of creating funds or mutual aid funds is also being discussed. Compared to taxes, this approach has the advantage of relatively less resistance from taxpayers and allows funds to be allocated exclusively to pet-related policies.
Meanwhile, many countries such as the United States, Canada, and Europe have already introduced and implemented holding taxes on pets. In Germany, for example, a tax is levied only on dogs that go outside, and in Berlin alone, about 14 billion KRW is collected annually from dog taxes. Although the tax varies depending on the breed, it is known that the average annual payment is about 260,000 KRW.
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