NEW CALIFORNIA VETERINARY TAX WILL RESULT IN HIGHER COSTS AND FURTHER SHELTER OVERPOPULATION!

Please send a fax today. Right now, if you can.

Please tell California Governor Schwazenegger that companion animals are not the same as furniture.

In an unfortunate new proposal, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has recommended broadening the Sales and Use Tax in California to include certain "luxury" services:

1. Appliance and furniture repair
2. Automobile repair
3. Golf
4. Veterinarian services!

Our companion animals are family members and taking care of their health is a responsibility, not a discretionary spending decision like golf or furniture repair. No other health-related services in California are taxed, and with record numbers of families already making the unfortunate choice to abandon their animals because they cannot afford them in today's economy, the last thing we need to do is increase medical costs.

The full proposal from the Governor's Office can be viewed here. The vote on this item will occur soon, perhaps as soon as Sunday, November 23.

Please join In Defense of Animals, Social Compassion in Legislation, the California Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA), and the Humane Society of the United States in voicing your opinion against this tax.  It is optional to get a broken chair leg fixed. It is not optional to get our companion animals fixed.

Please write to the Governor and to the legislative leaders below, and ask them to "remove the proposed sales tax on veterinary services in the 2008-09 Special Session proposal".

The Honorable Arnold Schwarzenegger
Governor of California
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
916.558.3160 Fax
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The Honorable Karen Bass, Speaker of the Assembly
State Capitol, Room 319
Sacramento, CA 95814
916.319.2147 Fax
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The Honorable Don Perata, Senate President pro Tempore
State Capitol, Room 205
Sacramento, CA 95814
916.327.1997 Fax
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The Honorable Darrell Steinberg, Senate President pro Tempore
State Capitol, Room 4035
Sacramento, CA 95815
916.323.2263 Fax
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The Honorable Mike Villines, Assembly Republican Leader
State Capitol, Room 3104
Sacramento, CA 95814
916.319.2129 Fax
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The Honorable Dave Cogdill, Senate Republican Leader
State Capitol, Room 3048
Sacramento, CA 95814
916.327.3523 Fax


If you would like more infor mation from the CVMA on this proposal, here is their Action Alert and their Fact Sheet.