You’re Invited to a Citizen’s Constitutional Workshop

You’re invited to join the John Locke Foundation for a timely Citizen’s Constitutional Workshop. All the details and registration information can be found here.

What the Founders and the State Ratification Conventions Can Teach Us Today

Saturday, August 07, 2010
8:30 am- 1:30 pm

The John Locke Foundation, 200 W Morgan St., Raleigh, NC 27601

Price: This meeting is free and open to the public, a box lunch is provided.

Space is limited, registration is required.

40 Million Businesses Will Face This Pressure

Get ready to add “Section 9006″ to the list of ill-advised, anti-growth policies pushed on business by the current administration and Congress. This time, 40 million businesses — about 26 million of them are sole proprietorships — will face an avalanche of paperwork, thanks to the health care “reform” law. From Karen McMahan’s Carolina Journal story about what has been dubbed the “Staples tax.”

Under current law, corporations must send an IRS Form 1099 to any individual or business that it has provided at least $600 in services to per calendar year. But Section 9006 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act dramatically expands the reporting requirement to all corporations, tax-exempt organizations, and government entities, and includes payments for all goods, not just services, that exceed the $600 annual limit. The provision is slated to take effect in 2012.

The new law has been described in some quarters as the “Staples tax,” as it will force millions of companies to begin filing 1099 forms to every business selling them office supplies, snack foods, and cleaning products.

The Heritage Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based public policy research organization, says the new regulations will affect 40 million businesses, of which 26 million are sole proprietorships. Small businesses face the biggest threat because they lack the resources to track and manage this type of reporting.

The story focuses on the precious metals industry, which will be particularly hard hit by this regulatory mess.

With the new 1099 provisions, dealers will be required to collect and track confidential tax information by customer name, sparking concerns that sales will decline as customers may be reluctant to provide such information. Larry Hyatt, owner of Hyatt Coin Shop in Charlotte, told CJ that some small businesses will go out of business because they won’t be able to afford the cost of collecting, preparing, and mailing out so many forms.

“We’re a small, small business,” said Linda Wright of Wright’s Coin Shop in Asheville. “We’ve been in business for 38 years, and I have to do all the paperwork and bookkeeping. This will really hurt us. With a bad economy, it’s too hard to pass on additional costs to customers.”

“It’s a stupid law that will put a lot of small coin dealers, pawn shops, and small jewelers out of business,” said Jeff Rubenstein, owner of Carolina Silver and Gold in Greensboro. “If you’re a small business and buy a refrigerator, you’ve got to do a 1099. It makes no sense. Commercial property defaults are already high, and now more businesses will go under. That’s what happens when lawmakers don’t read the bills they vote on and don’t understand business.”

No Need to Wonder Why, or What’s Ahead

The headline is from USA Today:

Quarterly economic forecast takes a turn for the worse

And what is the Obama administration’s policy plan? Let the the Bush tax cuts expire, which will increase taxes on the very people who create jobs, provide capital, and account for a big chunk of consumer spending.

No need to wonder why we continue to be in such a terrible economic mess. Policies DO have consequences and, so far, the current administration refuses to acknowledge that its economic policies have failed. It has gotten so bad that even some liberal members of Congress are getting very nervous. From the Wall Street Journal’s editorial page: (emphasis is mine)

Over in the House, Bobby Bright of Alabama even dared to defend the rich Americans who Democrats have been pounding for years. “I don’t care if it’s the wealthiest of the wealthy. You don’t raise their taxes,” he told The Hill newspaper. “In a recession you don’t tax, burden and restrict.” Better don the body armor on your next visit to the Speaker’s office, Bobby.