What, not Head of Household status for pet owners?

Hysterical, go do stand up! Pets are important and cost money..this bill is a fantastic idea.. Don't mess with us animal lovers we love them more than alot of humans.

Sometimes interns get to write bills, which are understood to go nowhere after submission.

Hey - as the responsible owner of very well-cared for dogs, one cat, and a cockatoo, I appreciate this bill. There have been some years that our total vet bills have exceeded $5,000. That's more than a lot of people spend on child support.

I totally agree - with 8 dogs and a cat our vet bills will always reach at least 8-9 thousand a year and any help in caring for our animals is welcomed. If you take care of your animals correctly then you would all understand and support this bill, especially since they can't make people pay child support!

Though I totally support need for people to have pets. I don't think pet expenses should be deductible. One can't compare it to child support. Pets are important to some but they are not children. Healthcare costs and budget deficit are more important issues than this one. How about tax savings for small businesses like our dateing site.

It's about time we get to deduct taxes for our furry pets. Our pets are dependent on us for survival. Key word here is dependent.

You think dating (you spelled your own business incorrectly) is a more important write off than pets? I think this is awesome, as a pet lover and owner of 5. I am also a home owner, so the ability to claim and get back more would help me contribute to the economy. And for some of us, pets are our kids. You get plenty of tax write-offs as a business owner (including the PC you responded on).

LoL, yeah criticize the tax breaks for pets and in the same breath ask for a tax break on your dating site...spam or not, what a stupid thing to do! lol

Actually our pets are our kids Animals are a lot better than children.

This is a smart tax deduction actually. Only someone who can't see the forest for the trees would think otherwise. Many local communities and counties are overwhelmed by animal control costs, and those costs are exacerbated by people who do not spay and neuter their animals. The #1 reason given by people who don't s/n is cost. In some areas, a spay for a cat can cost $250, and dogs more. But studies have shown that for every dollar spent on s/n services, $4 in animal control costs are saved. A tax break that helps people cover vet bills could encourage more s/n and could save millions in animal control costs. Anything that helps people pay for the vet expense of s/n is a good thing!

Spaying and nuetering and vaccinations are cost-effective public policy that saves tax payers and improves public health in the long run.

Animals provide greater security than most of the wasted money on defense projects. In addition, they improve the health and well-being of Americans, which should decrease health care. Obviously, you don't care about senior citizens who rely on their pets for emotional support.

There is a lot of stupid spending in Congress that middle class Americans never get the chance to take advantage of.

If we got out of Iraq and Afganistan, we could easily pay for this bill and health care.

This is just crazy. I love animals and have several myself but I don't want another crazy government tax and give away. Please America wake up and look at what is happening to our country. It isn't time to spend more on animals when we have millions of people out of work. Also please remember who is paying for all of this. All taxes have to be paid for unless you put them on a charge card. I think we have way too much on our charge card already. Don't forget what you have to do when your charge card bill comes and if you don't have the money to pay what comes next?

You know what I love? Broccoli! It tastes great and it's a vegetable so you know it's good for you.

SO WE NEED A TAX BREAK FOR BROCCOLI!

Because whenever government gets involved, good things happen! Because whatever I like, everybody else should be forced to pay for and to have! It doesn't matter that maybe somebody doesn't like broccoli, if I want it, I shouldn't have to pay for it. Does that make sense? My brain says no, but my heart says yes!

BROCCOLI??? You are an idiot!! I am soooo tired of hearing about people and their kids, blah blah blah!!! Because we choose not to have kids and have animails instead ,which we consider our kids, why not cut us some slack!? Go play fetch with your broccoli dumb ass!!

I totally disagree with Ryan, i have two dogs and they are like my kids they have the best care best vets and love and affection and it costs money just as it does to have kids. you have kids and you get deductions why not for pets when they are part of your family.

I'm all for ANYTHING that helps owners support and care for pets. Too many animals are homeless, abandoned/abused or put down. There ARE greater social issues, true, but there will ALWAYS be greater issues. When will it be the animals' turn? Had a hippie Democrat proposed this, it would have been OK. A little extra good will for everything we do to love and care for our pets goes a long way.

Pets have proven health benefits (http://www.cdc.gov/Healthypets/health_benefits.htm). They can also teach children responsibility, keep shut-ins company, save people during fires by waking them up, etc. I have seen tax breaks for worse things.

OMG!!!!!! Now I have to pay for other people's pets?

This strikes me as completely insane. I realize pets have great benefits for their owners, but why should taxpayers pay for your pets?

Sorry, this is more reason why only people who pay federal income taxes should a voice in how they are spent.

Why should taxpayers pay for your kids? As a single individual with a dog, I don't understand why I am taxed at the highest rate, just because I'm not married and have no kids. I pay for your kids, so you can stand to cough up a little for my dog.

Pet overpopulation is not just a problem for the animals or for the shelters involved. Each year communities are forced to spend millions of taxpayer dollars trying to cope with the consequences of this surplus of pets. These public costs include services such as investigating animal cruelty, humanely capturing stray animals, and sheltering lost and homeless animals.

Why not a little relief for those of us who prefer 4-legged kids, I've been helping to send your 2-legged kids to school for over 35 years.

I love it!! All these kids that rob,steal and rape people we have to pay their schooling. But unconditional love givers they have a problem with. These people are all fans of Michael Vicks i bet!!

I outgrew pet ownership in my youth and am absolutely appalled by this idea. Pets and the pet industry consume unbelievable quantities of resources and for most people are a luxury, not a necessity. I am fervently opposed to tax deductions for any optional expenses that people take on for personal pleasure. I have minimized my footprint by not breeding and not having pets. Do I get a tax break for that? Of course not.

I would support a deduction for companion animals for disabled people. Pets???? Give me a friggin' (tax) break!

Pet ownership is a personal decision and therefore personal expense. These expense should never be deductible. This bill should never see the light of day.

and so is having kids, its your personal choice to have children so why should parents get deductions for there kids but not there pets,
SUPPORTTTTT THE HAPPYYYY ACCTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

having children is a personal decision and therefore should be a personal expense. Buying a home is a personal decision and therefore should be a personal expense. Just sayin'.

Children are a personal decision. Should we ask congress to revoke that deduction? Oh, and we all get a personal deduction of at least 8,950. Should that be taken away too?

My pets are my children. Why should I not get the same benefits for them as I would get for children? People who get tax deductions for their children keep a lot more out of the tax pool than I would for my dogs!

I love dogs and snakes more than anyone in government, they can be trusted to make more intelligent decisions. Even so, this is stupid considering 1.4 trillion deficit spending. Cut the spendings, don't raise taxes. DUH!

the HAPPY act is one of the few things coming from the government that is a good thing. More and more animals are being dumped or destroyed. THis will encourage people to keep their pets and allow others to adopt thereby creating more money.

People keep saying that because there is a tax break for children they deserve one for their pets. I have both, children and pets, love them both although in no way equally!! Pets are not our future, children are!! My children will be the ones taking care of you in your old age not my dog! Yes animal abuse is a problem and should not be ignored, this HAPPY act is not addressing that issue. When I made the choice to bring children into this world is was not for the tax break and the amount that my children will contribute to this society as adults will far outweigh the tax credit!

62% of Americans are pet owners. This is a non-partisan issue that would help millions. We give tax credits for children and govt. handouts that encourage people to have more children than they can afford. How can anyone be against this bill? I imagine the author of the original information is more anti-Republican than he/she is anti-pet. My state's unemployment is over 10%, many people relinquish their animals to municipal shelters because they cannot afford to care for them. This bill would help those pet owners and lessen the strain on city shelters.

This is the most idiotic thing I have heard in a long time. If people are that concerned about the well being of animals why don’t they turn on the backyard breeders and the idiots that don’t spay or neuter their pets. Unbelievable. Just unbelievable. I spent $6K on my dog's legs but I certainly don’t expect other taxpayers to subsidize the cost. Americans have to be the whinest people on the planet. Good grief! Just when I thought I had heard it all. We have whiney fat people lining up for healthcare while they smoke cigarettes and now they will carry their fat pets along with them demanding tax credits. What is going to prevent people who don't care about animals to hoard them and claim the tax credit? What about fraud? People don't even get tax credits for their healthcare - animals should? The problem is pet overpopulation. Breeders and pet distributors should charge a hefty deposit that is only refunded when a pet is proved to be spayed or neutered.

Anyone who cannot see the benefits here is short-sighted. Aa a pet owner I support a lot of industries: dog food, dog toys, veteranarians, medical supplies (flea & heartworm preventatives to name a couple), the kennel when I need to board, etc. Obviously it would be quite simple to check the veracity of legitimate animal owners: through licensing or microchip numbers and documented receipts with graduated tax credits. Your kid gets a SSN that you need to put on the tax form, what is to say you can't fraud that? Also, if you do not get medical expenses as a tax deduction, get a new accountant.

Anyone opposed to this act has obviously never had to pay for cancer treatment for a beloved companion animal.

And Elective? Choice??? I'm glad it's my choice to responsible enough to take care of my companion animals (who, by the way, do experience emotion and feel paid) and for more than my fair share of the ones others neglect.

It's the 21st century. . . some of us are humane.