Italy’s South Tyrol region scraps planned dog tourist tax
The regulation would have required a daily fee of US$1.70 for each dog brought to the region from next year
Tourists will not have to pay a tax for their dogs in the Italian region of South Tyrol after the regional government withdrew a planned new regulation.
The regulation would have required a daily fee of €1.50 (US$1.70) for each dog brought to the region from next year. Italy’s northernmost province, where most people speak German, is a particularly popular holiday destination for German and Austrian tourists.
The dog tourist tax was part of a new overall regulation. In 2026, a dog tax was to be introduced throughout South Tyrol: local dog owners would then pay €100 per year for each dog, while visitors would pay the daily fee.
Regional councillor Luis Walcher explained that the plan was dropped as there was no majority for it in the regional parliament.
The money collected from the tax and fee was originally intended to be used to keep streets and squares free of dog mess. So far, this has been paid for through the waste disposal fee in the province, meaning that even the around half a million South Tyrol residents without dogs contribute. This repeatedly causes annoyance.