Bipartisan leaders answer AOA’s call for 1099 provision repeal
April 19, 2011Within hours of hearing from hundreds of hometown optometrists and optometry students, who were in the nation’s capital to play a key role in the 2011 AOA Congressional Advocacy Conference, U.S. Senate Democrats and Republicans came together to overwhelmingly approve an AOA-backed bill aimed at repealing a controversial tax reporting requirement included within the health reform law.
By a vote of 87 to 12, Senate leaders passed the Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act of 2011 (H.R. 4), which fully overturns the newly expanded IRS Form 1099 reporting requirement. Introduced into the U.S. House by Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.), the measure cleared the lower chamber with bipartisan support in early March. Now, with President Obama’s signature late last week, small business optometry practices will no longer face this new and burdensome requirement.
Originally incorporated into the health law as a tax compliance device, the expanded 1099 reporting requirement would have – starting in 2012 – called for most businesses to produce 1099s for all payments in excess of $600 made to an individual vendor in the course of regular business within a taxable year, including when paying for things such as computers, software, office supplies, and a range of services. The AOA strongly opposed this measure.
Members can read the full AOA letter urging congressional leaders to repeal the 1099 provision at: http://newsfromaoa.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/aoa_letter_of_support_h-r-_4_.pdf
As nearly 500 doctors and students stormed Capitol Hill to help deliver the AOA’s pro-access and pro-patient message directly to the offices of nearly every member of Congress, frontline advocates urged senators to bring to the floor and then vote in favor of the AOA-backed bill. Just a few hours after hearing from their local optometrists and optometry students, the U.S. Senate answered the AOA’s call for full repeal of the 1099 provision.
To watch AOA advocacy in action and see video highlights from the 2011 AOA Congressional Advocacy Conference, please follow: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUxtFabucM0%2526feature=youtube_gdata_player
