Even if the local elected officials in Chisinau annually approve a tax for dog owners, no one pays this. Contacted by IPN for details, Karl Luganov, head of the Animal Control and Protection Section of the Public Amenities Division, said the tax cannot be levied as the Pet Register of Chisinau municipality is not functional.

The launch of the database was approved this year and technical preparations are underway. When the register is launched, the people will be able to register animals and the procedure for paying the tax will be finalized. “The dog taxes haven’t been yet applied. They are every year approved in accordance with the Fiscal Code, where is has been stipulated for 15 years,” stated Karl Luganov.

The tax is 120 lei a year or 10 lei a month. Exemptions are also envisioned. Luganov noted the tax was introduced with the goal of making the people more responsible and of influencing them to register the animals, not of forcing dog owners to pay the tax.

A decision approved by the Chisinau Municipal Council says the persons with visual impairments, the pensioners, animal owners who achieved results at animal competitions and volunteers who signed an agreement on responsible ownership with the Animal Control and Protection Section will not pay the dog tax. No tax is also levied for adopted shelter animals.