Another Government Stealth Tax on horse owners

[madthing2spyda]

Taken from The Daily Telegraph 4th April 2009

Horse owners may be made to register on government database.

Anyone who keeps a horse would have to pay to register their animals on a government database and take out compulsory insurance against disease under plans drawn up by Whitehall.
The scheme calls for a “central register” of all farm animals and horses as part of a new regime for preventing outbreaks of diseases such as foot and mouth and bluetongue.
Owners would be obliged to pay an annual levy for every animal they own.
Laws would also force them to take out commercial insurance policies to cover the cost of treating or slaughtering their animals in the event of an outbreak.
The rules are primarily aimed at farm animals but documents from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs indicate that the registration levy and the insurance rules “could also cover horses and their keepers”.
Registering a horse would cost an estimated £10.50 for every animal.
There are around 650,000 horses in England and an estimated 4.3 million people ride.

<u>note by me:</u> Another Government stealth tax raising £6,825,000 (Six million, eight hundred and twenty five thousand pounds per annum) plus the insurance costs.

[Dotilas]

I do say that we need a much more considered approach on horse ownership and breeding in this country - Germany and France have a proper programme, and we can see it's sucessful from the horses that they are producing. I say this is a step closer to fufilling our potential as a horsey nation

[madthing2spyda]

This is has nothing to do with breeding it is just register of keepers, surely we all (well most of us) pay into a register via the horse passport ? that is my point.

[foxviewstud]

i can see this causing more dumped horses!!!!!!!

[perfect11s]

Fantastic goverment just the best ever... bravo gordon...
how about a window tax too or .........................

[Maisy]

perhaps, if you have an animal registered and duly pay your tax, they would not charge £400 odd for the road tax as you would have a *need* for one and not just have it as an accessory!

..........but then I guess, pigs might fly too!!!

[pixie]

[ QUOTE ]
Anyone who keeps a horse would have to pay to register their animals on a government database

[/ QUOTE ]

And what exactly is NED then?

[lauraanddolly]

Breathing tax will be next, its blooming ridiculous, they will have to hunt me down and fine me before I'll pay to be on any register!

[madthing2spyda]

I am glad you see my point, its the Government seem to need a soft touch to raise more money

[Donkeymad]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Anyone who keeps a horse would have to pay to register their animals on a government database

[/ QUOTE ]

And what exactly is NED then?

[/ QUOTE ]

Exactly what I asked when I read this a week or two ago.