They're just like you and me
by digby
...if we were rich enough to be able to deduct our dressage horse expenses:
As millions tune into 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.
As Matt Yglesias observes:
It's of course true that curbing the deductibility of expenses related to the care and feeding of dressage horses might inhibit investment in the critical dressage sector of the economy. But I'm skeptical that incentivizing capital formation in this particular area is all that vital to the long-term prosperity of the country.
Now mind you, if these horses want to prance around in circles with their tails in the air that's their business. But I don't see why I should have to pay for it. Where's my religious liberty?
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