Already 8,500 dog owners in Berlin are exempt from the dog tax
Law change in January
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Already 8,500 dog owners in Berlin are exempt from the dog tax
More than 100,000 people in Berlin own dogs, including many pensioners and recipients of social benefits. Since January they have had the opportunity to be exempted from the dog tax – this is noticeable on the income side.
Around 8,500 Berliners have been exempt from the dog tax since January. This emerges from a parliamentary question by Sebastian Schlüsselburg (Die Linke). The deadline was March 31 of this year.
In 2021, Berlin received around 13.5 million euros from the dog tax
Last year, the state received around 13.5 million euros from the dog tax, as reported by the Senate Finance Administration. As of March 31 of this year, around 126,000 dogs were registered.
The number of dogs has increased from year to year in ever larger steps over the past five years. Between 2017 and 2018 the number of dogs increased by 1,900, between 2020 and 2021 it was almost 6,700 more. In the same period, the income from the dog tax increased by around one million euros.
With 8,500 tax-exempt dog owners so far, it can also be assumed that tax revenue has already fallen by more than one million euros. Exact figures will not be available until the end of the year. When the law was introduced, a total of up to seven million euros in tax losses was expected.
The application must be renewed every year
If you want to benefit from the regulation, you have to submit an application. The tax exemption ends either when the applicant no longer draws social benefits or a pension or at the end of each year. After that, you have to apply again.
According to Sebastian Schlüsselburg, there are considerations to expand the group of exceptions. For example, pensioners could not apply, even with small pensions, because only pensioners are named in the law. In view of the current financial situation in the country, however, no promises can be made, said Schlüsselburg in rbb.
Broadcast: rbb88.8, April 13, 2022, 5 p.m