NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A85
SPONSOR: Rosenthal L TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the tax law, in relation to establishing a tax credit
for the cost of spay or neuter services
PURPOSE:
To grant an individual taxpayer a credit of eighty percent of the actual
cost of having their cats or dogs spayed or neutered. Credit shall not
exceed two hundred dollars.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one amends section 606 of the tax law is amended by adding a new
subsection (kick).
JUSTIFICATION:
In 2005 over forty one thousand cats and dogs were taken into shelters
in New York City alone. Over twenty two thousand of these animals were
euthanized.
According to a report issued by Animal Friendly NYC, a significant
number of these animals end up in shelters when their original owners
cannot afford to spay or neuter the animal. A fertile cat gives birth to
eight to twelve young per year on average, and a fertile dog gives birth
to four to eight young per year on average. These litters constitute a
significant burden to their pet owners and ultimately contribute to the
homeless cat and dog population. This is a public health crisis, as well
as a burden to taxpayers who pay for the care, feeding, medicine, clean-
ing, and euthanizing of these animals through publicly funded animal
control agencies. Each animal costs taxpayers approximately two hundred
dollars. According to the ASPCA, only ten percent of the animals taken
into shelters have been spayed, compared to seventy five percent of all
pets. Encouraging pet owners to spay and neuter their pets will result
in fewer animals in shelters and ultimately save the public money. As
well, the money that is credited to a taxpayer is likely to be rein-
vested into the forty billion dollar per year pet industry which will
prove beneficial to the economy.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
2021-22: A.644 - Referred to Ways and Means; S.195 - Referred to Budget
& Revenue
2019-20: A.62 - Referred to Ways and Means; S.188A - Referred to Inves-
tigations and Government Operations
2017-18: A.8081-A - Referred to Ways and Means; S.1678-A - Referred to
Investigations and Government Operations
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
85
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 4, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. L. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Ways and Means
AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to establishing a tax credit
for the cost of spay or neuter services
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 606 of the tax law is amended by adding a new
2 subsection (ooo) to read as follows:
3 (ooo) Credit for spay or neuter services. (1) General. An individual
4 taxpayer shall be allowed a credit for taxable years beginning on or
5 after January first, two thousand twenty-three against the tax imposed
6 by this article for the cost of spay or neuter services performed during
7 the taxable year for cats or dogs regardless of where such cats or dogs
8 were obtained. The amount of the credit shall be for eighty percent of
9 the actual cost of such spay or neuter service, but shall not exceed a
10 maximum credit of two hundred dollars.
11 (2) Eligibility. Such taxpayer shall provide an actual receipt or copy
12 thereof from any licensed veterinarian of this state showing the actual
13 cost of such spay or neuter service.
14 (3) When credit allowed. The credit provided for in this subsection
15 shall be allowed with respect to the taxable year, commencing after
16 January first, two thousand twenty-three, in which the spay and neuter
17 service is rendered.
18 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately, and shall apply to spay
19 or neuter services in taxable years beginning on and after January 1,
20 2023.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00288-01-3
