Rep. Speedy has introduced HB 1419 which would give people a tax deduction for gym memberships. I actually kind of like this one. The deduction would be the “sum of the expenditures to the fitness facility” with a cap of $500 for an individual filer and $1,000 for a married couple filing jointly or an individual with one or more dependent children. “Fitness facility” means “real property and equipment that is located in Indiana and made available for public use by an organization for the purpose of enabling patrons to engage in various forms of physical exercise.”
The idea is obviously to create an incentive to get Hoosiers off their collective behinds and start moving. Also, it would be a boon to gym owners – and, for various reasons, I’m friends with several. So, I’m biased.
Good idea. How about a deduction for using it?
Good one, Stuart. The gym industry runs on people that sign on in January and drop out in February.
I do not know, but I presume Rep. Speedy is a Democrat because this proposal is pretty much aligned with NY City banning soda and Michelle Obama telling us all what our kids should and should not eat. (The nerve!) Now we are also supposed to go to the gym on everyone else’s dime? If not that, then, it could also be a a very self-serving effort by someone connected to a gym in some business way? BTW I am a gym member so I would use this deduction, it’s just that it seems like a strange proposal to me.
While I’m not opposed to incentives to get people to make healthy choices, I’m not sure how the possibility of getting a tax deduction for a gym membership I couldn’t afford in the first place would make me join a fitness club. The people who will take the deduction are probably already members of fitness clubs, anyway, and—no offense, Doug—they probably don’t need a tax deduction as an incentive to join.
Ah. Finally looked up Rep. Mike Speedy. REPUBLICAN. District 90. So not a “Democratic do-gooder” but rather a Republican “do-gooder” (I refrain from speculating exactly for who the do-gooding is good for). The nerve!
I’m not in favor of this simply because it is too narrowly focused — the intent is nice but the implementation only helps a limited number of people (mainly gym owners). Personally I don’t like gyms so get my exercise other ways. How about a bicycle deduction? Running equipment deductions? Those would be nice. :-)
I would like to deduct the cost of my bicycle. It costed as much as Indiana allows for the personal deduction.
A lot of excellent points. This should be part of a wellness deduction which is thought through, not just some special interest legislation It should reflect a broad interest in the common good. If, for example, a person loses 10 pounds with proof from the local medical facility, that one uses a bicycle, uses the health club, drops their cholesterol, etc. Get some smart people working on it and get some people on board who can say with pride that they signed on to the legislation. That would certainly be a novel thing for the legislature.