Congress Set to Repeal Costly 1099 Reporting Requirement in Health Care Law

After months of inaction and missed opportunities, the United States Senate is prepared to take up legislation to remove the 1099 reporting requirement which was included as a revenue-raising provision with the health care law. The “Small Business Paperwork Relief Act” would remove the requirement entirely. Unless this takes place, businesses will be required to issue 1099 reporting forms to all vendors from whom they buy more than $600 of goods or services in any year, beginning in 2012. The law’s intent is to identify and collect taxes on sources of income that businesses have not declared. SEMA contends that it will fail to collect much under-reported income, but it will succeed in punishing small-business taxpayers that already comply with U.S. tax law. The “Small Business Paperwork Relief Act” is scheduled to be considered on November 29, 2010.

In a letter dated July 28, 2010, SEMA President Chris Kersting joined the business community in calling for the removal of this burdensome and time-consuming requirement from current law. SEMA has worked with several small-business coalitions, including the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), to remove the provision. Please contact your United States Senators (click here to find your senators) in support of this repeal to ensure that small businesses can continue to remain focused on recovery and growth.

For more information, please contact Dan Sadowski, SEMA congressional affairs manager, at dans@sema.org.