Okay, a little politics here... Yesterday, The US Senate took one small step towards sanity by repealing the 1099 fiasco provision of the even bigger fiasco, lovingly known as Obamacare.
You have to get deep in the story before you actually find that The Senate voted 87 - 12 to repeal one of the many retarded aspects of the overall retarded package. If you were not familiar with this, Obamacare has a provision that requires small businesses to 1099 any vendor that they do more than $600 worth of business with in their tax year.
Even though I have a day job, I still operate a small business. And, like hundreds of thousands of small/tiny businesses across the nation, I was dreading this. There are several vendors that I spend a great deal more than that with in a year. And, I have many dozens of customers that spend more than that with me.
In fact, I had already been notified by my online credit card processing company "FirstData," that due to the new regulations, I would be receiving a 1099 for all the gross receipts that they process for me. So, after I received this notice, I began to scratch my head, wondering if the customers that use our online ordering system would ALSO be 1099ing me.
Example: (Using round numbers here) Say I do $100,000 a year in online sales. Okay, I get a 1099 from FirstData for $100,000. Okay... But, within that $100,000, say I have 20 customers that order online for resale in their businesses in excess of $600 annually. Say those 20 customers purchase $50,000 in product total in a year. As I understand the law, they would be required to 1099 me also.
My gross income would show to be 50% more than it actually was, and I'd have to back out totals, customer by customer before reporting. And, then probably get audited. Again.
I was looking at an accounting nightmare come next April. Now, larger businesses with offices filled with number crunchers, and accounting clerks probably can just push a couple of buttons and mark it DONE. But, not so for the hundreds of thousands of us average Joes, that would be forced to wade through stacks of digits just to be able to accurately report final profit/income.
Foolishness like this is one reason that I am a true believer in a national consumption tax, and for scrapping the tax code period. Billions and billions of dollars would be saved annually (but this is not about that).
Congress got this one right. Thanks.
Now get busy, and scrap the rest of that crappy legislation the dimocraps rammed down our throats.
And, oh yeah...here's a picture I stole off Pseudo.
That's all.
Well, killing the ridiculous 1099 requirement was one small step and all that. Good on 'em for repealing what should NEVER HAVE BEEN DONE IN THE FIRST PLACE!
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's a huge relief for scads of people. But, as Buck pointed out, that should never have been enacted in the first place AND WE WERE ALL SCREAMING ABOUT IT AT THE TIME!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI trust the repeal was ab initio -- void as if it never existed.
Andy, the whole thing has to go and soon. If I flew ONE TIME with Delta and that flight was over 600 smackers, I had to 1099 them. It was stupid, idiotic, and a way to double tax everyone that has a danged job. But, such is the case when Democrats do anything.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the whole thing must go, and soon. If the Republicans can't scrap it financially, I say shut the whole gubmit down and let the chips fall where they fall.
ReplyDeleteMoogie, I'm pretty sure it was one of those ab initiator deals you were talking about. But, I'm just guessing.