A dog sits on a sun chair at a beach for dogs on the Tiber river in Rome August 19, 2009. [Agencies]

閱讀難度：

A proposal to levy a tax on cats and dogs that stunned Italy on Friday turned out to be all bark and no bite after a wave of popular anger saw it withdrawn on the same day it was made public, Reuters reported.

Italy was abuzz for hours after local media reported that a parliamentary commission had proposed a tax on domestic "animals of affection" to raise revenue for debt-strapped cities and towns.

Protestors said the policy would prompt more people to abandon animals.

The proposal was withdrawn by early Friday evening.（點擊路透社網站查看原文）

意大利“貓狗稅”流產

?????? 周五，一條向貓狗征稅的提案震驚了整個意大利，不過到頭來也是“干打雷不下雨”。在一片反對聲中，提案于公布的當天就被撤回了。

?????? 據(jù)路透社報道，當?shù)匾患颐襟w曝出議會委員會提議向國內的寵物征稅，以此來為債務纏身的城鎮(zhèn)增加收入。消息一傳出就引發(fā)了民眾數(shù)小時的爭論。

?????? 反對者稱，此舉將會使更多的人遺棄寵物。

?????? 最終，該提案于周五晚間早些時候被收回。

(China.org.cn May 21, 2012)