Russian tax collectors are seizing cats as collateral

Russian tax collectors are seizing cats as collateral
(Image credit: iStock)

That's cold, Siberia.

Tax collectors in Russia have apparently discovered a good way to get people to pay off their debts — by threatening to seize their cats, BBC News reports. Local news sources have reported on several instances in which the felines were eyed as collateral when their owners refused to pay up.

In Novosibirsk, a student reportedly owed about $200 in unpaid taxes, and bailiffs arrived to seize anything of value. They couldn't find anything, except for the man's British Shorthair cat and its kittens.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"Because the animals are pedigree and expensive, the representative of the law decided to place the cat brood under arrest," a statement from the region's court marshal's service read.

The man paid up, his cats were returned, and the bailiffs headed out, off to search for the next collateral kitty.

To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Sarah Eberspacher

Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.