Emerson: Repeal of Tax Requirement in Health Care Law Passes U.S. Senate
U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (MO-08) today reported that a measure to repeal the burdensome 1099 tax reporting requirement which she cosponsored in the U.S. House of Representatives has now also passed in the U.S. Senate. The Senate approved the same legislation today by a vote of 87-12.
"I've long maintained that many components of the health care law hurt more than they help, and there is no question that the 1099 reporting requirements heap paperwork and costs on small businesses which are already complying with the tax code. This bill, at its core, is about making big government even bigger. We have to restore the sense of accountability here, that the laws passed by Congress have real-world effects on jobs, on our economy, and on the availability of opportunity for people in our country," Emerson said.
The bill addressing the 1099 reporting requirements in the health care bill represents the first component of the Affordable Care Act to earn repeal by both the House and the Senate.
"This provision is little more than a gimmick – an expensive gimmick meant to show on paper that the health care bill could create revenue. There's no basis in reality for that assumption, and there is no accounting for the hours and hours of paperwork, the lost opportunities for small business, and the additional heartburn for employers in Missouri's Eighth Congressional District and around the country," Emerson added. "The health care law is the result of a closed process, and as a result there are many things in it which need the quick attention of Congress to stop or change. This is just the beginning."
The IRS 1099 provision in the health care law required businesses to report for any person or company with which they conduct $600 in transactions in a year. Emerson is also the author of a House-passed amendment prohibiting the Internal Revenue Service from enforcing any aspect of the individual mandate to buy health insurance.
Emerson voted earlier this year for total repeal of the Affordable Care Act, saying that Congress should start from scratch to truly reduce costs for patients and improve health care availability in rural and under-served areas of the country.