WASHINGTON – United States Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., Chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, made the following comment regarding the Senate vote to repeal the Form 1099 reporting requirements set to take effect in 2012:

Sen. Landrieu said:

“I am committed to easing the number of regulations on America’s small businesses. The expanded Form 1099 filing requirements would have added unnecessary burdens on small business entrepreneurs already working overtime to make their businesses succeed. Our small business owners have to wear a lot of hats, but “tax expert” should not be one of them. We should be working to remove over-reaching regulations that weigh down America’s job creators

Today, the Senate voted on H.R. 4, the House bill that repeals expanded Form 1099 filing requirements that were set to take effect, beginning on Jan. 1, 2012. H.R. 4 passed the Senate by a vote of 87-12, and will be immediately sent to the President Obama’s.

Background:

Under current law, all businesses are required to file a Form 1099 informational return with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on payments made for services to non-corporate entities that cost $600 or more. Last year, Congress expanded the Form 1099 reporting requirements to require any business to file a Form 1099 for payments made for goods, in addition to services, that cost $600 or more, beginning in 2012.

On March 3, the House passed H.R. 4, which repeals the expanded Form 1099 requirements set to take effect in 2012, and offsets the $24.7 billion cost of the repeal with altering healthcare reform tax credits available to middle-class taxpayers. Senator Johanns filed a similar proposal to H.R. 4 as an amendment to the SBIR/STTR re-authorization bill.