It’s Raining Cats and Dogs in Community Budget: New Pet Tax to Bring in Revenues, Says Yerevan City Hall

In a reference to a new fee to be paid for keeping pets in Yerevan, which has become a subject of heated debates in the capital recently, Yerevan City Hall has offered a few clarifications:

“Of course, media outlets and citizens will worry, but to avoid any misunderstanding and misinformation, we have to mention that first of all Yerevan Elders Council has not defined a new tax, as it does not have the authority to do so. Yerevan Elders Council has just implemented the ‘Law about local fees and obligatory payments’ adopted by the National Assembly in 1997. There is no tax for domestic animals. What we are dealing with is a 5,000 AMD fee [about $13 USD] which, in this case, will be paid once a year.”

According to Yerevan City Hall, Yerevan Elders Council has decided to implement this new law only in Yerevan. Yerevan City Hall also mentions that this fee will be levied for dogs and cats specifically, which will bring in about 1 million AMD to the community budget. Preliminary calculations for the Kentron (Centre) administrative district have already been made.

For the first term, condominium associations will take on the task of counting all families in the building that keep pets. It is said that as soon as the situation is analyzed, measures such as taking into account those who cannot pay will be implemented.