by: JEFF QUINN
Last week we offered some estate planning suggestions which could allow you to leave your dough to your dog. Now cometh yet another suggestion as to why taking care of Fido might soon enable you to gain some tax benefits during life.
If you can believe this one, Congress has found the time to actually entertain a measure which will allow you up to $3,500 in tax deductions as a result of all those "pet care" expenses you incur!
We guess congresspersons don't have enough on their plate (or in their bowl) to occupy all of their time, these days.
And to add insult to injury, a Republican (Thaddeus McCotter - R, Mich) is actually the author of the measure!
"We think this is as much a health care bill as any," quoth Nancy Perry, VP 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."
And get this touchy-feely acronym for the proposal: the HAPPY Act, or "Humanity and Pets Partnered Through the Years."
How nice.
We can hardly wait for the CBO's cost estimate on this one--the Humane Society says that 39 percent of U.S. households own at least one dog, while 38 percent own at least one cat. About 62 percent of American households own some sort of critter or other.
Obama has yet to weigh on where the money will be borrowed to fund this one.
And speaking of the President, here comes yet another government giveaway, to a large class of voters, no less.
Last week, Obama sought Congressional action to approve $250 payments to more than 50 million senior citizens, to make up for the shortfall to family budgets arising from the expectation that the Social Security Administration would announce no cost of living increase in benefit payments next year.
"Even as we seek to bring about recovery, we must act on behalf of those hardest hit by this recession," noted POTUS. "This additional assistance will be especially important in the coming months, as countless seniors and others have seen their retirement accounts and home values decline as a result of this economic crisis."
Curiously, his statement omitted the now familiar tag line, "which we inherited from Bush."
Any way, no word yet on where this $13 billion will come from, other than an assertion that the payments will not come out of the Social Security "trust funds." Nice.
CONSULT YOUR TAX ADVISOR - This article contains general information about various tax matters. You should consult your CPA regarding the implications to your particular situation.
Jeff Quinn, the author of this article, is a shareholder in Ashley Quinn, CPAs and Consultants, Ltd., with offices in Incline Village and Reno. He is also a contributor to the recently published twelfth edition of Tax Savvy for Small Business, published by Nolo. He can be reached at 831-7288, and welcomes comments at
jquinn@ashleyquinncpas.com.
