JIM FLYNN: Legislation would give deduction for pet care
This column rarely finds inspiration in pending acts of Congress. That’s in part because pending acts of Congress seldom seem to become actual acts of Congress. And it’s in part because pending acts of Congress tend to run to hundreds and even thousands of pages.
However, I recently found inspiration in H.R. 3501. This bill — only three pages long — was introduced into the House of Representatives by Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, a Republican from Michigan. The bill, if enacted, would amend the Internal Revenue Code (the world’s most convoluted statute—and proud of it) to allow taxpayers to deduct pet-care expenses on their tax returns.
As all pet owners know, pet care expenses are not inconsequential. I, for example, have a dog who is allergic to most ingredients in traditional dog food. This necessitates a special — and expensive — alternative diet. Said dog is also allergic to most trees, including a species of tree after which the subdivision where I live is named.
This allergy requires professionally performed bathing on a regular basis, using grooming products that compete in price with, say, titanium. Although sending him to a farm has been considered, this seems unlikely. He has a tail wag for everyone and everything, and, after a tiring day of real-world events, life is notably better when, on a cold winter night, he curls up at your feet next to the fire.
But back to H.R. 3501. Its sponsor has named this legislation the Humanity and Pets Partnered Through the Years Act, which is then shortened (with literary license) to the HAPPY Act. The HAPPY Act begins with a proposed congressional finding that 63 percent of all U.S. households have a pet. Another proposed finding is that the “human-animal bond has been shown to have positive effects upon people’s emotional and physical well-being.”
So, apparently, H.R. 3501 is intended to be part of health care reform.
The bill, if passed, will permit individual taxpayers to deduct “qualified pet care expenses” up to $3,500 per year. “Qualified pet care expenses” is defined to mean amounts paid in providing care for a “qualified pet.” Veterinary charges are specifically included in, and acquisition costs are specifically excluded from, this definition.
A qualified pet is any “legally owned, domesticated, live animal.” Therefore, goldfish, parakeets, turtles, hamsters, rabbits, boa constrictors and badgers (if domesticated) — and not just dogs, cats and horses — would be included. Not included are research animals and animals used in a trade or business.
If H.R. 3501 were to pass, it would be effective for 2010 and subsequent years.
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Jim Flynn is a private attorney at
Flynn Wright & Fredman LLC in Colorado Springs. The firm primarily represents clients in the real
estate, financial services and
small-business sectors.
Reach him at jtflynn@fwflegal.com.
