CVMA asks Schwarzenegger to quash vet services tax proposal

Sacramento

-- The California Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) initiated a statewide campaign by veterinarians and consumers opposing Governor Schwarzenegger's proposed tax on veterinary services.

The current proposal to tax veterinary medical care is contained in the administration's "Governor's Budget: Special Session 2008-09" document, the association reports in a prepared statement.

"Subjecting complicated veterinary medical procedures and treatments to taxation would be the same as taxing health care for children in California," says William Grant, II, DVM, president of the CVMA. "What will happen to the sick or injured pets of people already struggling with potential home foreclosures and job losses? How much more heartbreak is it fair to ask of our fellow citizens?"

The CVMA is asking veterinarians to write letters to the governor noting the hardship this proposed sales tax of approximately 9 percent would have on consumers; the potential adverse impact on already overcrowded pet shelters; and the unintended consequence of increases in food prices at the supermarket due to taxes on care for food production animals.

Even though the proposal does not require the taxation of the drugs and medicines used in veterinary services, treatments and surgical services would be taxed, the association adds.