D.C. Hotline: 1099s lose steam

After dramatically losing control of the House on Election Day, the Democrats are finally coming around to at least one of the many concerns of the business community: repealing the new 1099 provision.

A leading Senate Democrat and architect of Obamacare, Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), introduced legislation (S.3946) to kill the 1099 provision—which imposes new tax-filing requirements on small businesses—in the recently passed healthcare law.

“I have heard small businesses loud and clear, and I am responding to their concerns,” Baucus said in a statement.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said last week that the 1099 requirement is one of the few provisions of the healthcare law where the two parties agree that a change is needed.

Even President Obama weighed in on the issue a day after the midterm elections.

“The 1099 provision in the healthcare bill appears to be too burdensome for small businesses,” he said.

These statements significantly increase the chances for inclusion of the repeal provision in the bill that renews expiring and expired tax cuts during the lame duck session. If not resolved now, the 1099 repeal surely will be one of the first orders of business in the 112th Congress.