Those voices don't speak for the rest of us

Looks like the clever editing work of the same Right wingnut case that cleverly edited Shirley Sherrod's tape to hand over to Glenn Beck. Reagan's time, moment, and effectiveness came and went. Today, the World and the U.S. is in a much better place thanks to President Obama and the Democratic Party.

Probably the craziest thing I've ever seen posted here. I couldn't help but laugh. This is so out of touch with reality it's beyond sad. How is it possible for anyone to not have noticed all the small businesses closing and the increase in beggars etc? You live in a nuclear fallout shelter or worse yet prison?

Things are not improving folks and they will continue to spiral downward until certainty is restored. Obama's policies create uncertainty preventing the recovery.

Dumb this down for me.

I am under the impression that if I am a small business owner I need to get the tax id number for every supplier with whom I spend more than $600- and then issue them a 1099. But before I freak out let me think about what this really means for me.

Since I use an accountant I can have him perform a quick search to grab this info. And if he doesn't have access to the IRS DB he can have his admin make a quick phone call to the vendor using the phone number from one of their invoices.

And since he/she uses crafty tax software he should be able to pretty much push a button and the 1099 is filled in with the info from the database. Or he can have his admin fill in the info. And if they can't send this electronically to the vendor the admin can mail this using the USPS.

And for this grand total of 3-4 hours extra work this year I'll end up paying an extra $180-$240 in accounting fees (plus postage) which my accountant will of course list under my expenses so I get some of it back.

And next year the accountant won't need to start over but rather he'll only need to reconcile a few items on my supplier list because this list is relatively static.

And since what I am doing is helping to enforce existing tax laws (which will bring in more money to Uncle Sam) it will be helping to pay for our healthcare system, helping to reduce our national debt, etc.

Hmmm. I miss the part about how this is all so very terrible.

Dumb this down for me.

I am under the impression that if I am a small business owner I need to get the tax id number for every supplier with whom I spend more than $600- and then issue them a 1099. But before I freak out let me think about what this really means for me.

Since I use an accountant I can have him perform a quick search to grab this info. And if he doesn't have access to the IRS DB he can have his admin make a quick phone call to the vendor using the phone number from one of their invoices.

And since he/she uses crafty tax software he should be able to pretty much push a button and the 1099 is filled in with the info from the database. Or he can have his admin fill in the info. And if they can't send this electronically to the vendor the admin can mail this using the USPS.

And for this grand total of 3-4 hours extra work this year I'll end up paying an extra $180-$240 in accounting fees (plus postage) which my accountant will of course list under my expenses so I get some of it back.

And next year the accountant won't need to start over but rather he'll only need to reconcile a few items on my supplier list because this list is relatively static.

And since what I am doing is helping to enforce existing tax laws (which will bring in more money to Uncle Sam) it will be helping to pay for our healthcare system, helping to reduce our national debt, etc.

Hmmm. I miss the part about how this is all so very terrible.

What do you mean by this? Obamacare didn't create a new system, it just forces us all under penalty of law to purchase private insurance which will be more heavily regulated. The added revenue you will pay will be going to the health insurance industry.

What exactly are you uncertain of?

Are you reading anything besides the NYT Bob? :roll:

what are taking with you into the fallout shelter...the journal?

What do you mean by this? Obamacare didn't create a new system, it just forces us all under penalty of law to purchase private insurance which will be more heavily regulated. The added revenue you will pay will be going to the health insurance industry.

I haven't read the healthcare bill. But when I read this thread (starting with Post 15) I was under the impression that I just learned that-

one of the ways the gov't would help fund the healthcare reform was to use the money collected as a result of changes in reporting rules.

NOTE: I'm not talking about the mandate requiring me to be insured. But for the record I personally oppose it. And if it was up to me this bill wouldn't have been a sweetheart deal for the health insurance companies. I don't think Obama originally intended this either. But again- I'm not talking about this right now. I'm talking about the "burden" of the reporting changes.

I haven't read the healthcare bill. But when I read this thread (starting with Post 15) I was under the impression that I just learned that-

one of the ways the gov't would help fund the healthcare reform was to use the money collected as a result of changes in reporting rules.

NOTE: I'm not talking about the mandate requiring me to be insured. But for the record I personally oppose it. And if it was up to me this bill wouldn't have been a sweetheart deal for the health insurance companies. I don't think Obama originally intended this either. But again- I'm not talking about this right now. I'm talking about the "burden" of the reporting changes.

Sure sounds like an added burden to me. The whole thing stinks. From the article:

But under the new rules, if a freelance designer buys a new iMac from the Apple Store, they'll have to send Apple a 1099. A laundromat that buys soap each week from a local distributor will have to send the supplier a 1099 at the end of the year tallying up their purchases.

Why did these tax code revisions get included in a health-care reform bill? Welcome to Washington. The idea seems to be that using 1099 forms to capture unreported income will generate more government revenue and help offset the cost of the health bill.

Talk about ridiculous requirements. It doesn't even have anything to do with healthcare, it's just a revenue gimmick designed to clamp down on where the money flows. The whole thing makes me sick.

But if you buy the laptop w/ a credit card or debit card, no issues.

Whole lotta fuss about nothing as far as I can see. That's the whole point of a company credit card.

Hang on a sec. Without knowing anything at all (disclaimer) I would still be under the impression that this would not apply to retail purchases. Because the buyer is already itemizing these and the seller is already declaring these transaction when they collect and pay sales tax.

I would believe this would only be for vendors who wholesale goods and materials that the gov't doesn't know about because there's no sales tax collected.

As such, the Apple example is bogus.

Someone jump in and clarify please.

There is a government entity (Fed, State or Local) that knows who is wholesaling and who is purchasing from the wholesaler. An application is made for a Tax Exempt ID - or the FEIN is reported.

Hang on a sec. Without knowing anything at all (disclaimer) I would still be under the impression that this would not apply to retail purchases. Because the buyer is already itemizing these and the seller is already declaring these transaction when they collect and pay sales tax.

I would believe this would only be for vendors who wholesale goods and materials that the gov't doesn't know about because there's no sales tax collected.

As such, the Apple example is bogus.

Someone jump in and clarify please.

Obama is a socialist!;-)

But if you buy the laptop w/ a credit card or debit card, no issues.

Whole lotta fuss about nothing as far as I can see. That's the whole point of a company credit card.

Which begs the question, does this mean that banks are now required to report any purchase on a credit card over $600 to the IRS?

Hang on a sec. Without knowing anything at all (disclaimer) I would still be under the impression that this would not apply to retail purchases. Because the buyer is already itemizing these and the seller is already declaring these transaction when they collect and pay sales tax.

I would believe this would only be for vendors who wholesale goods and materials that the gov't doesn't know about because there's no sales tax collected.

As such, the Apple example is bogus.

Someone jump in and clarify please.

That description fits me perfectly. As an independent contractor, I'll now have to file 1099's for any company or individual I purchase hardware or software from. If I had to comply this year this would represent about six different filings. I wonder what the tax id is for Apple, Dell, and Adobe? I also purchased some testing software from an individual, whose tax id number would likely be their social security number.

Obama is a socialist!;-)

Whatever he is, he sure makes a lousy president.

[strike]AFAICT, credit cards aren't exempt.[/strike] And yes, it's for absolutely every vendor you transact with where the total amount is over 600.00.

http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/2010/04/26/costly-irs-mandate-slipped-into-health-bill/

The good news is, Republicans are trying to repeal it. Can't wait for November!

edit - credit card transactions are reported by the credit card processing companies. Lookout! Big Brother is watching!

That's not entirely true, Scooty. If you are a new business starting out, even if you offer a lower price on certain items, other companies are already thinking about narrowing down the amount of vendors they will do business which will result in more national vendors and less smaller businesses. Small businesses are the crux of our Countries domestic gross product. It's also where the most innovation stems from, the hungry entrepreneur.

I still don't understand why someone filling out a 1099 form puts small businesses out of business and is such a hassle. It's an existing form, it's a normal accounting function to do it, and it's for stuff you SHOULD* already be keeping track of for tax purposes.

Seriously - it's a basic tax/accounting procedure I know how to do and it takes maybe 5 minutes.

* Which is what I think the real fuss is about.

Scooterbug, you should run the world. Very solid and practical outlook.

I still don't understand why someone filling out a 1099 form puts small businesses out of business and is such a hassle. It's an existing form, it's a normal accounting function to do it, and it's for stuff you SHOULD* already be keeping track of for tax purposes.

Seriously - it's a basic tax/accounting procedure I know how to do and it takes maybe 5 minutes.

* Which is what I think the real fuss is about.

The statistics are showing that the typical small business will be averaging 200 1099's a year. That is a heck of a lot of phone calls to make to get EIN #'s or SS #'s, not to mention the processing and mailing of 1099's. I think that is what all the fuss is about.

Get EIN's is like pulling teeth. It might seem like a 5 minute process but it's not. Just more red tape getting in the way of being competitive.

I still don't understand why someone filling out a 1099 form puts small businesses out of business and is such a hassle. It's an existing form, it's a normal accounting function to do it, and it's for stuff you SHOULD* already be keeping track of for tax purposes.

Seriously - it's a basic tax/accounting procedure I know how to do and it takes maybe 5 minutes.

* Which is what I think the real fuss is about.

1. It will require business to file more forms and worry about keeping records for small amounts to purchase ordinary items at a very low monetary threshhold.
2. The worry is that the solution for many businesses will be to limit purchases to a handful of suppliers and that will hurt the small businesses disportionally.
3. The amount of additional revenue garnered will be a drop in the bucket compared to what the regulation will cost the economy in lost productivity.

I still don't understand why someone filling out a 1099 form puts small businesses out of business and is such a hassle. It's an existing form, it's a normal accounting function to do it, and it's for stuff you SHOULD* already be keeping track of for tax purposes.

Seriously - it's a basic tax/accounting procedure I know how to do and it takes maybe 5 minutes.

* Which is what I think the real fuss is about.

Its going to be a huge amount of work for small businesses. 1099s are currently only used for services, not products.

We buy a lot of supplies on the Web from Amazon Marketplace. We already pay use tax on them. Under these rules, I may have to track down individual sellers in the marketplace and get their IDs and addresses for 1099s. Same for EBay.

If you have personnel in the field purchasing parts or supplies you'll have to keep up with all of it. If 1 tech buys $300 at the ACE hdwe on one side of town and another tech buys $300 from the ACE hardware on the north side of town and they happen to operate under the same Tax ID, you have violated federal law if you don't 1099 them.

How much time are you going to have to spend tracking the tax IDs and mailing addresses of every place your business spends money so that you can be compliant?

Can't you just see the eyes glazing over when you ask the kid behind the counter at the 7/11 for his Tax ID?

We host meetings and bring in refreshments from lots of different local cafes and deli's. We like supporting the local firms.

That will have to end. We'll pick one and use only it. Its too much trouble to track otherwise.

For employees that travel extensively, 1099ing the airlines, the car rental companies (is that corporate or a franchisee in that town?) and the hotels and restaurants is going to be soooo easy,

I believe air and hotel will be exempt, but maybe I am wrong; but my eyes glazed over just looking at the list FBB wrote, exempting many other examples. Didn't even think of the Amazon marketplace, Yikes! :shock:

If the IRS just audited all the politicians tax returns, I bet they would find all the money they need much easier. Throw in rewards for disgruntled employees and wives/husbands for tax evaders and voila, there are your supplemental funds for the health care bill.

Its going to be a huge amount of work for small businesses. 1099s are currently only used for services, not products.

We buy a lot of supplies on the Web from Amazon Marketplace. We already pay use tax on them. Under these rules, I may have to track down individual sellers in the marketplace and get their IDs and addresses for 1099s. Same for EBay.

If you have personnel in the field purchasing parts or supplies you'll have to keep up with all of it. If 1 tech buys $300 at the ACE hdwe on one side of town and another tech buys $300 from the ACE hardware on the north side of town and they happen to operate under the same Tax ID, you have violated federal law if you don't 1099 them.

How much time are you going to have to spend tracking the tax IDs and mailing addresses of every place your business spends money so that you can be compliant?

Can't you just see the eyes glazing over when you ask the kid behind the counter at the 7/11 for his Tax ID?

We host meetings and bring in refreshments from lots of different local cafes and deli's. We like supporting the local firms.

That will have to end. We'll pick one and use only it. Its too much trouble to track otherwise.

For employees that travel extensively, 1099ing the airlines, the car rental companies (is that corporate or a franchisee in that town?) and the hotels and restaurants is going to be soooo easy,

Rest assured this provision will be amended.

Remember we spent a lot of time "debating" death panels.

Or was it death squads?

The Amazon example aside, I still don't see why it is so hard - you just enter all the receipts in a computer program - at the end of the year you do a 1099 for all of those that total $600 or more. I bet there's even an app for that. ;-) I already do this to keep track of deductions, mileage, reimbursibles, and spending. Heck I've got spreadsheets for my golf scores and car mpg and those aren't my income source/cash flows.

You should already have a good idea as to what businesses you are already spending $600 or more a year with. Once you get the #s, you just keep using them.

Hmmm, maybe this will make it more attractive to use a local business than an anonymous internet source. ;-)

The Amazon example aside, I still don't see why it is so hard - you just enter all the receipts in a computer program - at the end of the year you do a 1099 for all of those that total $600 or more. I bet there's even an app for that. ;-) I already do this to keep track of deductions, mileage, reimbursibles, and spending. Heck I've got spreadsheets for my golf scores and car mpg and those aren't my income source/cash flows.

You should already have a good idea as to what businesses you are already spending $600 or more a year with. Once you get the #s, you just keep using them.

Hmmm, maybe this will make it more attractive to use a local business than an anonymous internet source. ;-)

So you already have the tax-ids and business names & addresses of every entity you will purchase goods from? How about everyone that your employees purchase from as well.

I only have about 80 employees and I can see having to add some bandwidth to manage this. I have employees that may spend months working at customer sites. It will be interesting to keep up with every vendor that they spend money with in other states as well.

To make things even more confusing, credit card purchases may be exempted. If my employee buys something on a CC and files an expense report, I pay him by check. Do I 1099 him as my supplier? Its bizarre.