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Here's what you do:
Support the following bill by emailing, calling, and writing to your representative.
We will need to contact the Committee for Ways and Means first to get them to pass this bill. For a list of the members of this committee go to: http://waysandmeans .house.gov/ members.asp
The bill:
Humanity and Pets Partnered Through the Years (HAPPY) Act (Introduced in House)
HR 3501 IH
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3501
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a deduction for pet care expenses.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 31, 2009
Mr. MCCOTTER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
A BILL
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a deduction for pet care expenses.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Humanity and Pets Partnered Through the Years (HAPPY) Act'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) According to the 2007-2008 National Pet Owners Survey, 63 percent of United States households own a pet.
(2) The Human-Animal Bond has been shown to have positive effects upon people's emotional and physical well-being.
SEC. 3. DEDUCTION FOR PET CARE EXPENSES.
(a) In General- Part VII of subchapter B of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to additional itemized deductions for individuals) is amended by redesignating section 224 as section 225 and by inserting after section 223 the following new section:
`SEC. 224. PET CARE EXPENSES.
`(a) Allowance of Deduction- In the case of an individual, there shall be allowed as a deduction for the taxable year an amount equal to the qualified pet care expenses of the taxpayer during the taxable year for any qualified pet of the taxpayer.
`(b) Maximum Deduction- The amount allowable as a deduction under subsection (a) to the taxpayer for any taxable year shall not exceed $3,500.
`(c) Qualified Pet Care Expenses- For purposes of this section, the term `qualified pet care expenses' means 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.
`(d) Qualified Pet- For purposes of this section--
`(1) QUALIFIED PET- The term `qualified pet' means a legally owned, domesticated, live animal.
`(2) EXCEPTIONS- Such term does not include any animal--
`(A) used for research or owned or utilized in conjunction with a trade or business, or
`(B) with respect to which the taxpayer has claimed a deduction under section 162 or 213 in any of the preceding 3 taxable years.'.
(b) Clerical Amendment- The table of sections for part VII of subchapter B of chapter 1 of such Code is amended by striking the last item and inserting the following new items:
`Sec. 224. Pet care expenses.
`Sec. 225. Cross reference.'.
(c) Effective Date- The amendments made by this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2009.
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To all of our friends,
The purpose of this message is twofold. First of all, we will be shutting down our previous email account and switching to a more secure account. Our new email address is
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We are asking that if you would like to continue receiving our emails, please let us know by sending a quick email to
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. Please give us your name and zip code. We are asking for your location because there are times when an issue is regional and we would want you included in those mailings. We will only send out information regarding puppy mills or dog abuse / neglect to you. We look for more action in the legislature this year and want to keep you informed of what is happening. We will also be able to send out mass emails without showing everyone’s individual email address.
The second reason for this email is to alert you to a new group that has been formed in Indiana called the Indiana Council for Animal Welfare. These are the people who fought hard against puppy mill legislation last year and they are geared up for the new term. Their website is www.icaw.org. It is entirely based on scare tactics and untruths. They want the average dog owner to believe that the “animal rights activists” are going to take away everyone’s right to own a dog. Their claims are extreme and off the chart! By the way, if you want to see puppy mills shut down, you are labeled an “animal rights activist”. Yes. That’s all it takes. Being an animal rights activist may not be a bad thing, but it is always used in a way that makes us all look like extreme, radical, fanatical, unreasonable, communistic people. So, the fact that people get labeled is just one scare tactic to keep people from becoming involved. DON’T FALL FOR THAT!
Just as an example, the following is taken from their website:
Animal Rights organizations are increasingly impacting the animal world. They are threatening the right to own our beloved pets as well as the whole agriculture industry. The Animal Rights activists feel we (the American public) are not good enough to own or use animals. These groups work around the clock to eliminate:
* Animal Farming
* Eating meat
* The use of animals in research
* Hunting
* Circuses
* Zoos'
* and even owning any animal as a family pet!
To them, Defend the Dogs is an Animal Rights Activist group. The only reason we are given that label is because we fought to get legislation through to regulate puppy mills. We want to assure you that our sole purpose is to stop puppy mills and all abuses against dogs. We have no other agenda. Yet, the ICAW wants the general public to believe that if we pass puppy mill legislation, then the next thing on our agenda will be shutting down zoos and banning the sale of meat. We know how ludicrous this is. But you can see that they are using scare tactics to gain support. We just want to alert you to this group and their presence in the state. They would like to enroll the support of all dog owners in the state to their cause. Please let others know the truth about this group.
Again, Defend the Dogs is dedicated to ending the suffering of dogs and puppies in puppy mills. We’d like your support in seeing this happen. We were able to see tougher animal abuse and neglect laws passed in the General Assembly in 2009. We were also able to get a couple of clauses added to commercial breeding regulations. However, puppy mills are still perfectly legal and will continue to prosper until one of two things happens – people stop buying these puppies and / or we tighten restrictions on breeders. It’s been a tough battle, but the dogs suffering in the mills are completely dependent on caring Hoosiers to do something!
Oh, and by the way, if you scan the website, you’ll see a page on the Amish. They go into great detail about the Amish way of life, but they make no mention at all of how they treat their animals or of the fact that the Amish run the majority of puppy mills in Indiana. It seems odd that the ICAW would leave out all references to animals since they are an “animal welfare group”.
Please send a quick notice to us (including your name, zip code) at
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and we will keep you on our mailing list. If you are part of a rescue or shelter, please add that information in your email. If you do not respond, you will no longer receive our emails. THANK YOU!
CHECK OUT OUR NEWLY UPDATED WEBSITE AT www.defendthedogs.com! Enjoy the rest of your summer!
Defend The Dogs |
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