Italy Forced To Retract “Dog And Cat Tax” Proposal

A proposal to impose an additional tax on Italian pet-owners had to be scrapped by the government just hours after it was revealed to the public last Friday, after public outcry prompted parliamentarians to ditch a controversial tax plan that would have raised revenues for debt-strapped cities and towns.

A proposal to impose an additional tax on Italian pet-owners had to be scrapped by the government just hours after it was revealed to the public last Friday, after public outcry prompted parliamentarians to ditch a controversial tax plan that would have raised revenues for debt-strapped cities and towns.

According to a Reuters report, public reaction to the proposal was unanimously negative, with words such as “grotesque”, “surreal”, “idiotic”, and “shameful” used by local media agencies to describe the politicians behind the plan.

Animal rights group also expressed concern about the tax proposal, particularly as it had the potential to cause more people to abandon their pets with the country suffering from a wave of austerity measures and spending cuts.

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Additionally, the negative response to the proposal had been so fervent that one Italian agency ran nearly 40 news pieces related to the proposal in a four-hour news span immediately after the reveal.

Unsurprisingly, some Italian politicians are already attempting to distance themselves from the proposal.

[quote]”The only thing that’s left to tax are wives and children,” claimed parliamentarian Domenico Scilipoti sarcastically.[/quote]

The state’s tax-collection agency, Equitalia, also declined to comment on the issue having been the target of a wave of attacks – including a Molotov cocktail exploding outside its Livorno office on May 12 and the discovery of a parcel bomb delivered to its Rome headquarters just a day earlier.

“I have never seen such a tense atmosphere” said Daniela Ballico, who has been employed by Equitalia since 1998, to Bloomberg Businessweek.

[quote]“They call us loan sharks, bloodsuckers; my colleagues have to deal with anxiety and stomach aches every day and they are scared.”[/quote]

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti has also beefed up security around Equitalia’s offices and encouraged the agency to stay strong against “numerous acts of intimidation and aggression.”

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“Your task is a difficult one and not very popular because no-one likes paying taxes, but you do it with a sense of responsibility and impartially. The economic crisis makes our work even more difficult and delicate,” told Monti to Equitalia managers during a visit in Rome last Thursday.

[quote]”To restore confidence in a better future, we have to have confidence in the institutions that represent a state of law. If everyone paid taxes, everyone would have to pay less and public services would be better,” he added.[/quote]