Die Now, Pay Later

Death and taxes may be two great inevitabilities, but they are usually thought to be mutually exclusive. Kenneth Swenka, 48, a farmer in North Liberty, Iowa, found otherwise after the death of his three-year-old German shepherd, Lobo. When Swenka went to pay his county property taxes, he learned that they included a $1 levy on Lobo. Swenka told the authorities that the dog was dead, but was informed that since the tax had already been officially registered, he would have to pay. He reluctantly agreed. Then he found out that by Iowa law, the dog's tax could not be paid until the animal's license had been renewed, and it could not be renewed until Lobo had been revaccinated against rabies. Swenka offered to exhume his pet, but the county auditor finally agreed to waive the rules--and accepted the $1 in tax.

Many of Iowa's 99 county auditors have run up against similar problems and have recommended that the dog tax be abolished. Debate on such a bill is expected to start shortly in the Iowa legislature. Some local farmers like Swenka, who might be expected to favor abolishing the tax, are inclined to take the opposite view. Reason: the dog tax finances replacement of livestock killed by wild dogs and other predators.

Observes Swenka: "Lobo never gave me any trouble until he died."

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