Friday, December 10, 2010

It's the Regulations, Stupid, Part 2

On the same trip running errands with my dad described in a previous post, we stopped at a small appliance repair shop. It had only a few employees, maybe two or three. They repaired toaster ovens, clocks, lamps and assorted low-cost electronics. Judging from the customers I saw, each transaction had an average value of about $30.

ObamaCare was going to force this guy to fill out a 1099 form for every business transaction over $600. He was already getting 1099s from his suppliers in the mail in obedience with the new regulations.

He threw them away as fast as he got them. They were totally without value.

He told us he didn't have the staff to keep books to the level of detail required to fill out 1099s for every $600 transaction. It just wasn't possible for him to follow the rules, but he had experienced audits in the past for similar tiny infractions and expected more. This one was absolutely over the top for him.

Who is going to pay for all of our lovely social services once this guy quits?

HHS. They're here to help.

1 comment:

tim eisele said...

Granted that it's a ridiculous added level of pointless paperwork (and does this mean that, when I buy something that costs more than the limit, I have to give, say, WalMart a 1099?) but - how hard is it really to file a 1099?

When I get them as a result of being paid for doing consulting work, they are basically an inverse receipt: a note saying that "We gave you X dollars, and did not withhold any taxes on it, so social security/income tax/whatever is Your Problem". Am I missing some complexity here, or is this just the IRS throwing their weight around to document all of everyone's income?