Congress has approved the repeal of a provision in the Affordable Care Act that would have required small businesses, including physicians, to file an IRS 1099 form for each vendor purchase of $600 or more.
Tuesday's vote to repeal the 1099 requirement was supprted by more than three-quarters of Congress and was backed by President Barack Obama.
The Senate version of the bill, introduced by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), passed on February 2, with passage of Rep. Dan Lungren's (R-Calif.) House version coming a month later.
Earlier this year, Congress struggled with how to pay for the provision, which was estimated to cost $19 billion in lost tax revenues. Congress was finally able to cut a deal this week on the price tag while deadlocked in federal budget battles threatening to close the federal government by Friday.
There has been no shortage of support for doing away with the provision. The American Medical Association has been joined by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers, American Farm Bureau, National Association of Realtors and other organizations in supporting the repeal.
"By repealing the 1099 provision as part of H.R. 4, Congress has not only removed an unnecessary, burdensome small business tax-reporting requirement, but also saved taxpayers millions of dollars," the Business Roundtable said Tuesday. "The 1099 repeal demonstrates how both sides of the aisle can work together to reduce regulatory burdens, which will boost American competiveness and set the stage for businesses, both large and small, to innovate and create jobs."
National Association of Chain Drug Stores President and CEO Steven Anderson said the requirement would have hindered businesses, including pharmacies. "Everyone is better served when pharmacy can focus on patients, not paperwork," he said.
[See related stories: Repeal of ACA's 1099 tax-reporting requirement stalled in Congress;
Senate repeals 1099 physician reporting requirements.]
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