Stop Burdening Small Businesses

As Chairman, and now Ranking Member, of the Senate Finance Committee, I am working to provide the IRS with the tools needed to collect all taxes it is owed, instead of raising or creating new taxes.  I have said repeatedly that taxpayers should pay their fair share – not a penny more, not a penny less. 

Estimates put the tax gap – the difference between what is owed to the federal treasury and what the government actually collects – close to $300 billion. 

Third party reporting, such as when businesses report on 1099 forms how much they paid other businesses, helps root out tax cheats.  The recently passed health care reform bill significantly expanded 1099 reporting requirements.  A provision, one that had nothing to do with health care, was included because it was estimated that it would raise over $17 billion in revenue that could be used to pay for health care reform.  This is another example of how the costs of health care implementation were not considered, particularly the heavy costs for small businesses.

There is bipartisan support to repeal this provision.  I support the repeal of this provision and am working with my colleagues to make that happen.  Many small business owners are struggling just to keep their businesses open.  They shouldn’t be burdened with excessive paperwork to keep other taxpayers honest.