Senate amendments to strike health reform tax reporting provision fail

The Associated Press/Bloomberg Business: "The Senate failed Tuesday to repeal or ease an arcane tax reporting provision of the new health care law. ...Tucked into the health law is a requirement that businesses file tax forms called 1099s with the Internal Revenue Service for every vendor that sells them more than $600 in goods. Business groups say it would create a paperwork nightmare for more than 40 million companies as they struggle to keep going in a weak economy." An amendment, which was advanced by Sen. Ben Nelson, R- Fla., and supported by the White House, would have exempted "firms  with 25 or fewer workers and raise the reporting threshold to $5,000 for the rest." It fell short in a procedural test of gaining the necessary 60 votes. "That vote came shortly after the Senate also sidelined, by 46-52, an amendment by Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., that would have repealed the reporting requirement." The debate was "an inconclusive ending to an early skirmish over repealing part of President Barack Obama's signature domestic policy achievement" (Alonso-Zaldivar, 9/14).

The Wall Street Journal: "Senate Democrats defeated an attempt by Republicans to lift a tax-reporting requirement that small businesses face in a move that would have stripped away $17 billion earmarked to help pay for the sweeping health-care law" (Boles and Vaughan, 9/14).

Los Angeles Times: The reporting provision was added to the health law to help offset the cost of the new law's expansions in health coverage. Democrats blocked the GOP proposal "that would have eliminated the mandate entirely and also have cut funding for public health programs and exempted more people from having to buy health insurance starting in 2014, a key provision designed to control premiums for everyone.The Republican proposal, by Nebraska Sen. Mike Johanns, worried many health experts and patient advocates who said it would have substantially weakened the healthcare law" (Levey, 9/14).