another day another innovative economy changing thread

Mistermeaner

Ok - today's great idea to help balance the books: pet tax

I'm thinking dogs particularly but no harm extending to all of the little critters. They serve little benefit to wider society (although I acknowledge they provide pleasure to their owners). No-one should have one who cannot amply afford it - benefits of any kind should not be used to pay for them. It's a great way to raise some extra tax.

Dogs particularly I think should be licensed and taxed, part of the tax can pay for wardens to enforce people to pick up their sh it after them and clean up / shoot strays etc. The rest can be pocketed by the treasury for doing general socialist good.

Cats etc subject to a lower tier of taxing, maybe goldfish can be free.

Thoughts?

The_Last_Username

Hey, our dog is GREAT!
Apart from the fur everywhere.:o
Oh, and incessant walkies.
Ah yes, and that brings me to the subject of ....... erm ....... doggie bags full of **1t!! :mad:

On the other hand he is a GREAT "burglar alarm"!
Probably cheaper than subscribibg to a service for them, too.
He keeps all sorts of wildlife off our lovely garden.
(Excepting pigeons - they dive-bomb him & he doesn't like that!):D

I'm sure if I consider more I will find more, BUT

there used to be a Dog Licence here in the UK, up until 1987.
Didn't work.

How about taxing (lack of) IQ instead? :cool:
We could take a base of ....... oh, say 150......... the lower a person is, the more tax.
The higher and ....... :T

chewmylegoff

I preferred the idea where we just shoot all the people.

remorseless

You're a tad late...

Great Britain
Dog licensing was abolished in 1987. Prior to this dog licences were mandatory, but the requirement was widely ignored, with only about half of owners having one. The final rate for a dog licence was 37 pence, reduced from 37½p when the halfpenny was withdrawn in 1984. This figure was an exact conversion from 7/6 (seven shillings and sixpence) on decimalization in 1971. The revenue went to local authorities.

Maybe cause let me guess, folks were on benefit and had a dog license support handout?

I prefer the idea of council have pets DNA on file to track the offender and fine them :cool:

Seriously, pick it up, it's not 1980 anymore!!!!

Mistermeaner

Wasn't aware of previous tax but that was clearly crap and not adminned properly.

Dogs already get non dog owner tax spent on them - poo bins , special areas in parks etc. The users of these should pay for them

37 pence is pointless. I'm thinking a grand a year for big dog. 3 grand for the little yappy things.

Aren't dogs fairly carbon footprint unfriendly as well?

Also for all you bleeding heart socialist what sort of society feeds and looks after pointless animals while children are starving in Africa etc.

Ps and yes I did step in a turd tonight

Loughton_Monkey

Compulsory chipping/passports is the answer here. Backed up by compulsory onus to transfer registration if sold/given away. That way authorities always (theoretically) know the official owner.

Dogs found roaming the street would simply be collected (as in USA) and owner traced (or not). If traced, huge fine would secure return of dog. If not traced (or fine not paid) then [the bit I don't like] dog is put down.

All the other nasties like fouling, biting, baby-killing would be similarly dealt with more easily.

Regarding cats, I can only speak for Mrs. LM. She would preferably go for making ownership of cats a capital offense. But she would be a tad more happy if a compulsory 'cat on leads' policy was rigorously enforced. This attitude is rather extreme, but fostered by the continual activity of local cats coming to defacate in our garden. Like most phobias, this dates back to her childhood when a cat climbed through an upstairs bedroom and dropped one on her bedroom chair.

Things like snakes, meerkats, terrapins, iguanas etc that are not native to Britain, or are quite plainly 'wild animals' should not be allowable as pets.

Turkeys are for Christmas. Not for life.

wotsthat

Pet food (unless it's marked as working dog) is subject to VAT and the UK market is worth about £2.5bn. Pet ownership is good for the owners mental and physical health. Animals are allowed to visit prisons, care homes and hospices for good reason.

I reckon pets pay their way. Licensing and the like is all well and good but responsible owners chip, neuter, vaccinate and pick up dog !!!! too. No point legislating because irresponsible owners will largely ignore any rules.

In terms of carbon footprint dogs have an impact but as much of their food is made from products such as lungs, udder, chicken backs and testicles which cannot be land filled there's probably a saving by avoiding more expensive disposal methods.

We need dog owners because it's them and the joggers that tend to be the finders of dead bodies.

wotsthat

Mistermeaner wrote: »

Ps and yes I did step in a turd tonight

I endure a number of residents association meetings each year. At least 75% of the meetings are spent talking about dog turds.

Usually there's a call for us to spend (even) more on signage but I say it's a waste of money. No one reads a 'pick up dog mess' sign and is surprised to hear this is now considered expected behaviour.

remorseless

Mistermeaner wrote: »

Ps and yes I did step in a turd tonight

how very Parisian!

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/shortcuts/2015/apr/28/dna-testing-dog-poo-have-to-be-barking-council

I'd rather vote for that, if you want a dog you got to fork out for the DNA testing to be registered.

Though then I guess you'd have to spot the 'illegal dog', then again they just started tracking the 'illegal migrants'!!! So eventually they'll catch 'hem :rotfl:

zagubov

As a dog-owner even I feel they should put a glow-in-the dark chemical into dog food so we don't step in their turds at night.;)

Generali

The problem the UK economy faces isn't too much tax it's too much spending.

Fundamentally the answer lies exactly where the Tories are looking, getting people off benefits and into work. Rotting away on the dole is no life yet it appears to be Labour's economic policy. If you look at Government spending, by far the biggest spend is on welfare and health. Working people have better mental and physical health and claim less in benefits.

People should work and work should pay.