Paperwork Nightmare is Repealed in Senate

SBE Council Urges President Obama to Quickly Sign H.R. 4

If President Barack Obama signs H.R. 4 into law, small business owners will finally be able to breathe a sigh of relief as the paperwork nightmare they now fear will not overtake their businesses or lives starting in 2012. The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed H.R. 4 by a vote of 87-12, a House-passed bill that repeals the expanded 1099 reporting mandate in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). H.R. 4 also repeals an expanded 1099 reporting requirement for certain rental property that was advanced as part of the “small business jobs” legislation in September 2010.

SBE Council urges President Obama to quickly sign the repeal legislation.

As I said in a statement that was released immediately following Senate passage of H.R. 4:

“The universally reviled 1099 provision is almost gone, and with good reason. Small business owners are incensed that they would be overwhelmed by mind-numbing paperwork when they are already overburdened by government regulation and compliance costs. The provision made absolutely no sense, and small business owners are pleased that most members of Congress see it their way.”

The expanded reporting provision in PPACA mandates that small business owners file a 1099-MISC form to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for all payments made to vendors totaling $600 or more in a tax year. Likewise, as passed in the small business lending bill, individuals that receive rental income are now required to distribute and file 1099s on payments made in excess of $600 annually. Small business owners expressed outrage regarding these onerous paperwork requirements, which will add significant costs to their operations. SBE Council has run a successful Repeal campaign, where thousands of small business owners signed the Petition to Repeal the onerous 1099 mandate.

Given the overwhelming and bipartisan support that H.R. 4 received in both the House and the Senate, President Obama must sign this legislation into law. SBE Council is confident he will.

Karen Kerrigan, President & CEO