As of: March 29, 2024, 5:04 a.m
By: Eva Burghardt
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In Bochum there will soon be controls to ensure compliance with the dog tax. Anyone who has not registered their dog must expect a fine.
Bochum – It’s about tax justice, writes the city of Bochum. After all, it is mandatory to register your dog and pay the corresponding tax for it. Unfortunately, it has been found in the past that not all dog owners comply with this obligation. That's why there should now be extensive controls. For this purpose, all households in the city are visited.
Owners do not comply with dog tax - city has households checked
The process is actually quite simple: If you get a dog, you register it with the city and pay the dog tax. The amount varies depending on the city and state. There are sometimes drastic differences in North Rhine-Westphalia and the Ruhr area. The city of Oberhausen recently increased the dog tax significantly, while in other cities it has remained constant for years.
The city of Bochum has all households inspected. (Symbolic image) © Michael Gottschalk/imago
In Bochum, dog owners currently pay 168 euros per year for a dog. If there are several people living in one household, the sum increases. But apparently some people do not comply with this tax obligation. That's why the city wants to carry out a so-called "dog inventory" "shortly," according to a statement dated March 21st.
Failure to pay dog tax results in fines of up to 10,000 euros
If this has not already been done, the city recommends that dog owners have their animal checked before the inspection begins. The last inspection of this type was in 2011. As was the case then, this time the city is also commissioning a private company to inspect all of the city's households and thus record the dog population.
In Germany and North Rhine-Westphalia, anyone who has a dog has to pay tax. (Symbolic image) © Karsten Eggert/imago
Dog tax in NRW
The dog tax in North Rhine-Westphalia is valid for one year. It is usually paid quarterly, half-yearly or annually. How high the dog tax is varies regionally. The municipalities themselves determine the amount of the tax by means of a dog tax statute based on the number or dangerousness of the animals. Owners of so-called “list dogs”, i.e. dogs that are said to be particularly dangerous, pay a higher tax. This classification does not always apply. Animals that are marked as listed dogs often spend their entire lives in the animal shelter, as 24RHEIN reports.
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“The employees visibly carry identification issued by the city,” it says in a statement. They should also not enter people's homes or collect taxes or fees on site. Nevertheless: If an animal is discovered during the inspection that is not registered, the owner must expect a fine. Depending on the individual case and the amount of taxes evaded, this can be up to 10,000 euros.
(ebu)