WASHINGTON, D.C., April 5, 2011 — The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA or the Big “I”) today praised the U.S. Senate for passing H.R. 4, the “Comprehensive 1099 Taxpayer Protection and Repayment of Exchange Subsidy Overpayments Act of 2011.”
Since H.R. 4 had already passed the House by a 314-112 vote on March 3, 2011, it now heads to President Barack Obama for his signature.
“The Big ‘I’ is pleased by the passage of this important bill in the Senate,” says Robert Rusbuldt, Big “I” president and CEO. “Congress has done the right thing in standing up for small businesses by voting to repeal this new reporting mandate. Our thousands of small business members and their clients will breathe easier knowing this ill-advised provision will not take effect.”
The 1099 reporting mandate was originally passed last year as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as a way to partially offset its cost. It was intended to increase tax compliance by requiring businesses to file a 1099 for all business-to-business transactions for goods or services totaling more than $600 cumulatively over the tax year. Repeal of this mandate has enjoyed widespread bipartisan support in both legislative bodies, yet up to this point the most contentious issue has been how to offset the lost revenue. Now both the House and Senate have passed language repealing the 1099 provision with identical revenue offsets, therefore, sending the bill to the president for his signature.
“We are very pleased that Congress has voted to repeal the 1099 reporting requirement and want to especially thank Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) for his dogged pursuit of this repeal in the Senate,” says Charles Symington, Big “I’ senior vice president of government affairs. “We applaud Congress for the bipartisan efforts and urge President Obama to sign this important bill.”
Founded in 1896, the Big “I” is the nation’s oldest and largest national association of independent insurance agents and brokers, representing a network of more than 300,000 agents, brokers and their employees nationally. Its members are businesses that offer customers a choice of policies from a variety of insurance companies. Independent agents and brokers offer all lines of insurance—property, casualty, life, health, employee benefit plans and retirement products. Web address: www.independentagent.com.
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