On the recordApril 5, 2011
today we vote on a bill that would repeal the 1099 reporting expansion that was made into law under the Affordable Care Act. This reporting requirement was designed to improve tax compliance. However, many businesses fear this expansion could end up burdening not those who seek to evade their taxes, but those who innocently do business with those who do. This is why I support the repeal of this reporting requirement in the Affordable Care Act. Unfortunately, I do not agree with how this bill would pay for this repeal. This bill would hurt individuals who receive modest pay increases or bonuses during the course of a year. The Affordable Care Act subsidizes insurance coverage for middle-class families making under 400 percent of the Federal poverty level who don't have access to employer provided coverage. Under current law, people close to 400 percent line are protected from substantial tax penalties if they receive a modest raise or bonus that bumps them into a higher income bracket. This bill would eliminate that protection and impose a retroactive penalty on those families that could amount to thousands of dollars. Those families, even if they end up over the line by $1, would have to pay back the entire amount of their subsidies. For a family of four, for instance, this could mean owing more than $5,900 on their taxes because of an unexpected increase in income from $89,000 a year-- 398 percent of the FPL--to $89,500--$100 above the 400 percent FPL.…





