HAPPY Act-Tax break for pet ownership

[the color nine]

as in Humanity and Pets Partnered Through the Years


A bill making the rounds on Capitol Hill marries two feel-good propositions -- tax cuts and pet ownership -- to generate a novel idea: A tax break of up to $3,500 per person for pet care expenses.

The measure is a legislative long shot. But it's been championed by a veteran Hollywood tough guy and by a conservative Michigan congressman, and has drawn the enthusiastic support of animal rights groups eager to promote pet ownership during economic down times.

"We think this is as much a health care bill as any," said Nancy Perry, vice president of government affairs at the Humane Society. "It's a human health issue to ensure that pets are provided with better care because of the role they play in our families."

The measure even has a snappy acronym: the HAPPY Act, as in Humanity and Pets Partnered Through the Years.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/pets-save-taxes-congress-debate-happy-act/story?id=8811927

I wonder if there will be a run on pet shelters by people that don't care about pets but want $$  :|

[LilDevil]

[quote author=the color nine link=topic=22793.msg1411775#msg1411775 date=1255458017]


I wonder if there will be a run on pet shelters by people that don't care about pets but want $$  :|
[/quote]

I hope they'd have people show proof they owned the animal for at least a year.

[Hellbettie]

[quote author=the color nine link=topic=22793.msg1411775#msg1411775 date=1255458017]
as in Humanity and Pets Partnered Through the Years


A bill making the rounds on Capitol Hill marries two feel-good propositions -- tax cuts and pet ownership -- to generate a novel idea: A tax break of up to $3,500 per person for pet care expenses.

The measure is a legislative long shot. But it's been championed by a veteran Hollywood tough guy and by a conservative Michigan congressman, and has drawn the enthusiastic support of animal rights groups eager to promote pet ownership during economic down times.

"We think this is as much a health care bill as any," said Nancy Perry, vice president of government affairs at the Humane Society. "It's a human health issue to ensure that pets are provided with better care because of the role they play in our families."

The measure even has a snappy acronym: the HAPPY Act, as in Humanity and Pets Partnered Through the Years.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/pets-save-taxes-congress-debate-happy-act/story?id=8811927

I wonder if there will be a run on pet shelters by people that don't care about pets but want $$  :|
[/quote]

That's exactly what I was thinking. It's a fairly good idea though, many people get animals, then don't get them their shots. My family is famous for doing this with cats. My aunt buys them at Cat Shows sometimes, spends a TON of money on a cat, then withholds money for the proper shots they need, cos they don't have money for that. Yet, they have like 3 cats that they bought, cos they HAVE to have purebred cats. Drives me nuts!

[AlexaC]

I have no idea how they'd pull this off. I work at a petsmart and even more than half of the people who I work with, who love animals, don't have them registered to the state or county. I think it would be hard to prove who had a dog, how long they had it, and wether or not that ammount was actually spent on the animal in a year considering how few people are leaving a paper trail, even though its legally required to do so.