MOSCOW, December 24 (RAPSI) – The St. Petersburg legislative assembly has forwarded a bill to the State Duma to levy an annual tax on pet owners at 1,000 rubles (about $20) per pet and also harsher penalties for violating pet ownership requirements, RIA Novosti reported on Wednesday.

The tax on neutered or spayed dogs would be cut to 100 rubles per pet, an explanatory note to the bill says.

As of 2011-2012, there were over 107,000 registered dogs and over 37,000 registered cats per 4.9 million residents of St. Petersburg. Together with unregistered pets, there are at least 300,000 dogs and 1 million cats in the city, of which only 10 percent have been neutered or spayed.

According to St. Petersburg MPs, there are at least 8.5 million dogs and 28 million cats in Russia. If the bill is adopted, it would increase budget revenues by 7.7 billion rubles (over $140 million), the explanatory note says. The authors of the bill say these funds could be invested in animal shelters and dog runs.

The bill would also regulate requirements for pet ownership and registration, for walking dogs and for euthanasia.

It would also introduce 2,000 to 4,000-ruble ($40-$80) fines for walking dogs without a leash or a muzzle. The bill’s authors also propose penalties for children walking dogs without parents and for adults walking their dogs while in a state of intoxication.