The Romney’s Horse Was A $77,000 Tax Write-Off

We are beginning to see glimpses of why Mitt Romney was hesitant to show his Tax returns. Besides the fact that he is storing his money in offshore bank accounts, we are now seeing that Mitt Romney wrote off $77,000.00 in 2010 as a business expense. That is okay. Mitt Romney is a multi-millionaire and that kind of money being written off as a business is expected. What raises eyebrows is what the business expense was.

According to The New York Times, Romney’s horse Rafalca was the business expense. The Romney’s tax returns showed they lost $77,000 for the care and feeding of their horse. The Times reports:

As millions tune in to the Olympics in prime time this summer, just before Mr. Romney will be reintroducing himself to the nation at the Republican convention, viewers are likely to see “up close and personal” segments on NBC about the Romneys and dressage, a sport of six-figure horses and $1,000 saddles. The Romneys declared a loss of $77,000 on their 2010 tax returns for the share in the care and feeding of Rafalca, which Mrs. Romney owns with Mr. Ebeling’s wife, Amy, and a family friend, Beth Meyers.

If we are to take the Romney’s lead, can we write off the care and feeding of our dogs or cats or even our horses at tax time? Can we label Rover as a dependent and ask Uncle Sam to give us a bigger refund because we spent money to feed and take care of Fluffy? Try it next year. After your audit, please tell me about the experience.