Senate Votes to Repeal Expanded 1099 Reporting Requirement

On Wednesday, February 2, the Senate voted 81 to 17 to repeal the expanded 1099 reporting requirement that was part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Sen. Deborah Stubenow (D-MI) introduced the bill, which will now go to the House of Representatives.

At present, businesses are required to file 1099 forms for purchases of services of $600 or more each year from unincorporated businesses, such as sole proprietorships. The health care bill extends this requirement to cover purchases of property and goods in addition to services from all businesses, including corporations.

Stubenow’s legislation does away with the requirement that businesses must file the forms with the IRS for purchases of $600 or more, as reported by The Hill.

In related news, on Wednesday, the Senate voted 51 to 47 against repealing the Affordable Care Act. The vote means the Republican bill to repeal the law, which passed the House, is now dead in Congress, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. However, challenges still await the health care bill: a U.S. District Judge in Florida ruled the law to be void, noting that requiring citizens to carry health insurance or pay a penalty was unconstitutional, the WSJ article said.

The Florida decision is the fourth ruling on health care reform. Two federal judges, one in Michigan and the other in Virginia, have upheld the law, while a Virginia federal district judge ruled that the individual mandate was unconstitutional but not the law’s remaining provisions, as reported by examiner.com.



The Obama Administration plans to appeal the most recent decision.