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Thu 23 Mar, 2006 08:42 pm
Dutch Family Taxed for Barking Doorbell
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) - The Bruintjes family says a city inspector was barking up the wrong tree when he handed them an euro80 (US$97) bill for the Dutch dog tax.
The family insists it does not have a dog - only a barking doorbell.
It was the second year in a row the family had a run-in with authorities over their doorbell, which plays 15 different barking noises, Dutch media reported Thursday.
"Last year it was a huge effort to convince the inspector that we didn't have a dog, and now it's happened again," Gerrit Bruintjes was quoted as saying by RTL Nieuws.
In the Netherlands, dog owners are required to pay the "hondenbelasting," an infamous annual tax that is frequently evaded.
After pressing the doorbell and hearing the barks, the inspector in the city of Oldenzaal simply pushed a bill through the family's mail slot.
"My wife came home shortly afterward and was able to grab the inspector at the end of our street. After a lot of yipping and yapping, she was finally able to convince him," Bruintjes said.
He said he had chosen the doorbell in honor of the family's German shepherd, which died several years ago.
they should get a grizzly bear doorbell, then they would be fine.
Where I live, there are a number of small ponds. Each pond usually has its resident alligator. I have not seen it personally, but I have been told stories of people seeing an alligator walking from one pond to another, most often at night.
you think they are being taxed?
I want a doorbell that urinates on anyone with the temerity to ring. I hate unwanted interruptions!
Now, if I could just figure out what to do about my cell phone....
Phoenix32890 wrote:Where I live, there are a number of small ponds. Each pond usually has its resident alligator. I have not seen it personally, but I have been told stories of people seeing an alligator walking from one pond to another, most often at night.
Something tells me you got this on the wrong story.
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