Senate Fails to Repeal 1099 Rule

Posted 1/13/2011

Last month, the Senate rejected two amendments that would have eased expense-filing requirements on small businesses. The amendments would have done away with requiring businesses to file annual expenses to vendors if the amount is more than $600. The rule is part of the health-care reform legislation. The Senate failed to pass two similar bills in the fall of 2009.

Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, and Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., sponsored the two amendments, which would have been part of the food-safety legislation. Senate rules for these amendments required 67 votes for approval; however, both of the amendments fell short of the two-thirds requirement. The Baucus amendment was rejected by a vote of 53-44, and the Johanns amendment failed by a vote of 61-35.

Referred to as the 1099, because of the IRS form number, repealing the rule by approving the Baucus amendment would have lowered U.S. tax revenue by more than $19 billion over the next 10 years' budget estimates. The Johanns amendment, however, would have been offset by using 5 percent of unobligated and unspent federal accounts.

To view further information on the Baucus and Johanns amendments, visit ASA's legislative website at www.TakingTheHill.com.