Earlier today, the Congress government in Punjab announced that people in Punjab will have to pay tax for having domestic animals. These taxes were in range of Rs 250 per year for having small animals like dogs, cats, pigs, sheep, etc. and Rs 500 per year for bigger animals like buffaloes, cows, camels, horses, elephants, etc.
Apart from the taxes, the state government also announced that an identification mark or number will be given to each animal and a ‘microchip will be installed’ in the animal, though it’s not clear whether it is to track moments of the animals or to detect any ‘tax evasion’.
The step left Twitter users with deep amusement and some anger too. Not only the tax rule didn’t differentiate whether a domestic animal was pet or part of vocation of a poor family, it also didn’t go down well with animal lovers, especially the dog lovers, who didn’t like the idea of a ‘microchip being installed’. There were a range of reactions to this step, such as:
https://twitter.com/1LifeYSoSerious/status/922730575714308096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/bija_hem/status/922748999664205824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/sk00monu/status/922735199678369792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Some wondered about the categorization of some animals in the tax structure:
https://twitter.com/Imsaiagarwal/status/922728920314658816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/HospitalBaba/status/922736652803457024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Punjab government was bashed for the proposal, which was seem anti-poor and anti-farmer:
https://twitter.com/drpwndutta/status/922732611604135936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/Amit_Joshi07/status/922733089482162176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Congress as a political party also drew flak, as only yesterday its Vice President Rahul Gandhi mocked GST as “Gabbar Singh Tax”. So what to call this new tax by Punjab government?
https://twitter.com/rahulroushan/status/922732991465394176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/delhi_lawyer/status/922735308931612673?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/Graaamin/status/922730170716319744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
And some Twitter users were already thinking too ahead:
https://twitter.com/TheAngrezJailer/status/922732581505835009?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/Atheist_Krishna/status/922749882401570816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/reviewero/status/922739442778906624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Update: Following widespread criticism and ridicule, Punjab government has denied reports about taxing domestic animals.