I recently ran across a news tidbit about a bill called the Humanity and Pets Partnered Through the Years (HAPPY) Act. H.R. 3501 would amend the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual to deduct up to $3,500 for “qualified pet care expenses.”A “qualified pet” is defined as “a legally owned, domesticated, live animal.” It does not include animals used for research or owned or utilized in conjunction with a trade or business.
And “qualified pet care expenses” are defined as “amounts paid in connection with providing care (including veterinary care) for a qualified pet other than any expense in connection with the acquisition of the qualified pet.”
Needless to say, the Humane Society of the United States is in favor of this and so are the folks at PetWellBeing.com and CatChannel.com while the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC) issued an alert Aug. 5 supporting the proposal.
“Providing pet owners the opportunity to deduct pet care expenses is an important step toward ensuring that pet owners provide adequate veterinary and other necessary pet care,” PIJAC stated in the alert. “It encourages responsible pet ownership and will hopefully reduce the abandonment of pets by people struggling as a result of the economic downturn.”
