Pet exemption

A Michigan Congressman wants to give pet owners a $3,500 tax break. The article was not specific, but I assume this would be an above the line exemption like the one for dependents. While I love tax breaks and I am a pet owner, I abhor tax breaks that target special interest groups like this one would. Many critics of the measure agree:

But not everyone thinks Congress should throw pet owners a bone.

"If you choose to have a pet, you should take care of it," Katrina Ulrich says.

Yeah, very true. That's the same way I feel about the exemptions that parents get every year for their kids. At least pets are deficit neutral, the government doesn't have to spend a lot of money to deal with the social costs pets. Kids on the other cost the government mega bucks, and parents actually pay less than they otherwise would.

I'll be curious to see how consistently the arguments against this exemption are applied to kid-related exemptions.