... the expanded 1099-MISC reporting mandate in the new health care law must be repealed 

A burdensome mandate in the new health care law (Public Law No. 111-148) requires small business owners to compile and report a 1099-MISC for payments made to every vendor totaling $600 or more on an annual basis.  This massive new paperwork requirement, to begin in 2012, will add substantial costs and burdens on our nation's small business owners and entrepreneurs.  Expanded 1009-MISC reporting will require an exhaustive and time-consuming effort on the part of small business owners to ensure proper compliance with this far-reaching mandate.

Whereas, small businesses have been hardest hit by the deep recession, sales continue to be weak and we cannot absorb any new costs if we are to survive through this uncertain economic period;

Whereas, the expanded 1099 reporting mandate has nothing to do with health care reform or affordable care, but was inserted within "The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" as a revenue raiser without any substantiation that it will raise the amount subscribed, or for that matter how much it will cost the government to process the blizzard of new 1099s that will arrive at the IRS;

Whereas, the vast new 1099 reporting requirement will, indeed, add direct costs to small businesses and force firms to expend a greater number of employee and owner hours to ensure compliance;

Whereas, collecting and accurately reporting Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TIN) for every vendor that we pay $600 or more on an annual basis will be a tedious and time-consuming process;

Whereas, most small businesses do not have the extra resources to hire accounting staff, or enlarge existing staffs, in order to properly comply with the expanded 1099 reporting mandate;

Whereas, exempting those businesses from the 1099 reporting requirement if they use credit cards to pay vendors is inequitable and unjust, as credit has been cut for many small businesses and using credit cards carries transaction costs that some entrepreneurs do not want to pay, or cannot afford;

Whereas, the potential requirement that small businesses may have to withhold tax payments from specific vendors if requested by the IRS will add more costs, burdens and potential legal hassles;

Whereas, entrepreneurs and small business owners may be competitively impacted if businesses decide to consolidate vendors in order to reduce their 1099 reporting burden;

Whereas, economic recovery in the United States is dependent on small business owners for job creation, innovation and wealth creation, and higher costs imposed on our firms detract from this critical imperative by taking more of our precious time, money and focus;

We the undersigned support repeal of this burdensome mandate in the new health care law.  The expanded 1099-MISC reporting requirement cannot be implemented without imposing onerous administrative burdens and new costs on small business owners.

Therefore, we support legislation introduced in Congress - the "Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act" (H.R. 5141, S. 3578) - and we call for immediate passage and enactment of this legislation, which will repeal this misguided and costly mandate.