The curious story from Hilden: A man is supposed to pay dog tax - without owning a dog
In 2022, Marianus Krall from Hilden received a tax demand that even the most experienced tax expert would find hard to believe. He is supposed to pay dog tax in arrears - for dogs he never owned. A case that has caused a stir and raises questions: How could this mistake have happened? And what is behind it?
The sinister tax assessment: Krall is furious
Marianus Krall, an antiques dealer from Hilden, could hardly believe it when he received a letter from the tax office at the end of January 2022. He was supposed to pay a total of 1,200 euros in dog tax for two dogs that he allegedly owned - for the years 2018 to 2021. But Krall doesn't own any dogs. Even a thorough search of his home and garden did not reveal any dogs. "There are no dogs in my house!" says Krall, stunned. But the city seems to take little interest in his arguments.
Objections and reminders: A bureaucratic back and forth
Initially, Krall tried to take action against the tax assessment. He lodged an objection and sought contact with the city administration, even approaching Mayor Claus Pommer personally. But nothing helped. The objection was rejected and instead of an apology, Krall received a new notice - the additional demand rose to 1,400 euros. The reason: an allegedly missing electronic signature and his refusal to provide information about the non-existent dogs. But what really happened? The city claims that Krall owns dogs - based on public Facebook photos showing him with dogs. But Krall explains that these are dogs belonging to his daughter and friends, for which taxes are of course also paid.
The confusing end: court must decide
As the city did not respond to Krall's repeated objections, the Hilden resident decided to take the case to the administrative court. The case is now in litigation, while the city of Hilden is still waiting for the court's verdict. Krall was also unable to shake off another reminder for the year 2022, which increased the claim to a total of 1,600 euros. The city itself admits that the reminder was incorrect, as the case is still being heard in court. But the question remains: How did it get this far in the first place?
A case of bureaucracy from hell - and the question of responsibility
This case is a shocking illustration of how imprecise and rushed bureaucracy can sometimes be. A man is asked to pay tax on something he does not own and is shuffled back and forth between different authorities. What at first glance looks like a bureaucratic misunderstanding could in fact also be a serious problem with data protection and the monitoring of social media profiles. This is because the city based its claim on publicly accessible Facebook photos. This is a broad area that could still raise many legal questions.
Bureaucracy has limits!
You have to ask yourself how far the state is allowed to go to collect its taxes. Is it really justified to make a tax demand on the basis of social media postings and unclear investigations? The whole process seems almost farcical and makes you think that bureaucracy and a love of paperwork count for more here than common sense and transparency. At a time when data and its use are increasingly controversial, we must seriously ask ourselves: how secure is our data and how free can we still live in a digital world?
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