1970 silver art
5th December 2010, 07:23 AM
This news story was posted by a poster on another forum that I post on and I was not sure if it was posted here yet. This is not good news. So far, the new 1099 tax reporting rule is still on starting on January 1, 2012.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/30/us/politics/30cong.html?_r=2
Senators Cannot Agree on Fix to the Health Law
By CARL HULSE
Published: November 29, 2010
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Monday failed to repeal an unpopular element of the health care overhaul even though Democrats and Republicans agreed it needed to be jettisoned to prevent businesses from being saddled with undue tax paperwork.
Caught in a partisan dispute over how to proceed with eliminating new tax reporting rules, the Senate twice was unable to reach an agreed-upon threshold of 67 votes to eliminate a provision that critics have seized on to illustrate the failings of the health care legislation championed by Democrats.
A Democratic plan to overturn it attracted only 44 votes in support with 53 against; a Republican plan that would have cut other programs to make up the shortfall caused by the repeal fell short on a vote of 61 to 35.
Under the provision, which was added to the health care law to help pay for it, businesses that spend a cumulative $600 or more with a vendor, supplier or contractor would have to file a 1099 form with the Internal Revenue Service identifying the recipient of the money.
The idea is that the new reporting requirement would increase compliance with tax laws, generating added tax payments that would help pay for new health care coverage. Lawmakers in both parties now say that the provision goes too far and that it would put a burden on companies now exempt from reporting such spending while requiring an expansion of the Internal Revenue Service to keep track of the added paperwork.
“It defies description except to say that it’s one more overbearing government intrusion on free enterprise in our country,” Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Republican of Texas, in urging repeal of the provision.
Despite the inability to overturn the provision, Senate officials said they expected that another vote on repeal would come soon, given the support the idea has in both parties.
The provision survived because of the complex politics of the Senate. Some lawmakers were reluctant to back repeal on Monday since the rule change would have been added to a popular food-safety law that is nearing approval, potentially jeopardizing its passage. In addition, dueling Democratic and Republican proposals allowed lawmakers to register their disapproval of the 1099 requirement whether the repeal passed or not.
Senator Mike Johanns, Republican of Nebraska, said his proposal lifted the provision, which does not take effect until 2012, without adding to the deficit by allowing the administration to make cuts in other programs to offset the costs.
“If we can’t solve this problem and pay for it,” asked Mr. Johanns, “how do we ever solve the multitrillion-dollar deficit that this country is facing?”
Senator Max Baucus, the Montana Democrat who leads the Finance Committee, offered the Democratic proposal that would eliminate the new tax requirements but would not provide additional revenue. Mr. Baucus said the Republican approach was granting too much leeway to the administration to determine spending cuts.
Republicans said the fight over the 1099 requirement was just the first to come in their efforts to unravel the health law.
“We are going to do it a little bit at a time until we can repeal the whole thing and start all over,” Ms. Hutchison said.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/30/us/politics/30cong.html?_r=2
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/30/us/politics/30cong.html?_r=2
Senators Cannot Agree on Fix to the Health Law
By CARL HULSE
Published: November 29, 2010
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Monday failed to repeal an unpopular element of the health care overhaul even though Democrats and Republicans agreed it needed to be jettisoned to prevent businesses from being saddled with undue tax paperwork.
Caught in a partisan dispute over how to proceed with eliminating new tax reporting rules, the Senate twice was unable to reach an agreed-upon threshold of 67 votes to eliminate a provision that critics have seized on to illustrate the failings of the health care legislation championed by Democrats.
A Democratic plan to overturn it attracted only 44 votes in support with 53 against; a Republican plan that would have cut other programs to make up the shortfall caused by the repeal fell short on a vote of 61 to 35.
Under the provision, which was added to the health care law to help pay for it, businesses that spend a cumulative $600 or more with a vendor, supplier or contractor would have to file a 1099 form with the Internal Revenue Service identifying the recipient of the money.
The idea is that the new reporting requirement would increase compliance with tax laws, generating added tax payments that would help pay for new health care coverage. Lawmakers in both parties now say that the provision goes too far and that it would put a burden on companies now exempt from reporting such spending while requiring an expansion of the Internal Revenue Service to keep track of the added paperwork.
“It defies description except to say that it’s one more overbearing government intrusion on free enterprise in our country,” Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Republican of Texas, in urging repeal of the provision.
Despite the inability to overturn the provision, Senate officials said they expected that another vote on repeal would come soon, given the support the idea has in both parties.
The provision survived because of the complex politics of the Senate. Some lawmakers were reluctant to back repeal on Monday since the rule change would have been added to a popular food-safety law that is nearing approval, potentially jeopardizing its passage. In addition, dueling Democratic and Republican proposals allowed lawmakers to register their disapproval of the 1099 requirement whether the repeal passed or not.
Senator Mike Johanns, Republican of Nebraska, said his proposal lifted the provision, which does not take effect until 2012, without adding to the deficit by allowing the administration to make cuts in other programs to offset the costs.
“If we can’t solve this problem and pay for it,” asked Mr. Johanns, “how do we ever solve the multitrillion-dollar deficit that this country is facing?”
Senator Max Baucus, the Montana Democrat who leads the Finance Committee, offered the Democratic proposal that would eliminate the new tax requirements but would not provide additional revenue. Mr. Baucus said the Republican approach was granting too much leeway to the administration to determine spending cuts.
Republicans said the fight over the 1099 requirement was just the first to come in their efforts to unravel the health law.
“We are going to do it a little bit at a time until we can repeal the whole thing and start all over,” Ms. Hutchison said.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/30/us/politics/30cong.html?_r=2