(Missoula, MT) - Montana's senior U.S. Senator Max Baucus announced plans to introduce legislation to repeal new requirements for businesses to file forms with the IRS reporting payments for goods and services during a meeting in Missoula with state business leaders today.  Baucus told Montana business leaders he is working to nullify the provision in response to their concerns the requirement would place too large of a paperwork burden on small businesses.

"I have heard Montana businesses loud and clear and I am responding to their concerns," Baucus said.  "Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, especially in Montana where we have more workers employed by small businesses than anywhere else in the country.  Montana businesses need to focus their efforts on growing and creating good-paying jobs - not filing paperwork.  Montana businesses have made clear these reporting requirements won't work for them and it's my job to fix that.  And that is exactly what I'm going to do."

Montana Chamber of Commerce President/CEO Webb Brown attended the meeting with Baucus and thanked him for fighting for Montana business.

"On behalf of the Montana Chamber of Commerce and Montana businesses, we thank Senator Baucus for taking a leadership role in addressing this issue.  As always, Max is in touch with our concerns and his action on this issue will give Montana businesses the certainty they need to plan ahead, create jobs and continue to drive our economy forward," Brown said.

Montana State Director for the National Federation of Independent Business, Riley Johnson, also expressed strong support for Baucus' bill.

"We thank Senator Baucus for his support for full repeal of the 1099 provision and are eager for him to formally introduce his bill when he returns to Washington next week. The sooner Congress can repeal this burdensome provision for Montana's small businesses, the better.  Coming from a state largely comprised of small businesses, Senator Baucus' support for full repeal is a great opportunity for us to fully repeal this onerous provision. We look forward to continuing to work with him on behalf of Montana's small businesses," Johnson said.

The reporting requirement is sometimes referred to as "1099" because it would require businesses to file Form 1099 with the IRS to report payments made to corporations for goods and certain services.  This type of information reporting was proposed by the Bush administration to help better keep track of what businesses spend and earn, which in turn helps better keep track of what they owe in taxes. 

The U.S. Treasury Department estimates that more than $345 billion in owed taxes go unpaid each year, adding to the federal deficit.  The 1099 information reporting requirement was passed with the hopes that better information would help the IRS collect more of those unpaid taxes and keep taxes lower for all taxpayers. 

The reporting requirement is not scheduled to take effect until 2012.  However, following passage of the law in 2010, Montana business owners expressed concern that when the provision does go into effect, the forms would place a heavy paperwork burden on small businesses, which is particularly troubling in Montana where 97 percent of all workers are employed by small businesses.  In response to the Montana business community's concerns, Baucus said today that he would repeal the new reporting requirements and look for other ways to improve tax compliance and keep taxes low.

As Chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, with sole jurisdiction of the tax code, Baucus has long been an advocate for small businesses and is committed to providing the tools small businesses need to drive Montana's economy forward.  He recently fought to pass the Small Business Jobs Act, which became law earlier this year, to cut taxes for small businesses and help them get the capital and investment they need to grow and hire new workers.

Baucus pledged to continue partnering with the Montana businesses to craft common-sense solutions to enhance tax administration and make our tax system fairer without raising taxes. 

Contact: Kate Downen (406) 224-5056/Jennifer Donohue (202) 224-2651

###