Slaughtering Tax: Definition and History in Asia

Slaughtering tax, also called animal‑slaughter levy, was a tax imposed on the service of killing livestock in several Asian jurisdictions. In Indonesia it was regulated by Yogyakarta City Regulation No.8 of 1960, while China and Cambodia previously enacted similar taxes.

According to the International Tax Glossary (2015), the tax was charged per head of animal slaughtered, with rates varying by species and region. Local authorities collected the fee to fund slaughterhouse facilities and animal health inspections; China’s central government ordered cessation in the 1990s and Cambodia repealed its law in 2018.

The removal of slaughtering tax coincided with agricultural tax reforms that shifted focus to subsidies rather than service fees. In Indonesia the formal tax no longer exists, but some regions still impose a slaughterhouse service charge to cover operational costs. For farmers and consumers, the change reduces the direct cost of processing meat.