Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
A recently introduced bill could have far-reaching impact on the U.S. sugar industry, including American Crystal Sugar, a farmer-owned cooperative that locked out 1,300 Midwest workers on Aug. 1.
The chairman for Herman Cain’s Iowa effort says the campaign “relied more on the word of farmers than Washington regulators” in deciding to run an ad containing claims the Environmental Protection Agency says are false.
The Iowa Senate will remain under the control of a slim 26-25 Democratic majority when it reconvenes in January 2012.
Mariannette Miller-Meeks, the Republican candidate in Iowa’s 2nd District, recently called on Democratic incumbent Dave Loebsack to join her in opposing a tax law change linked to health care reform — something his office reports he’s already voted to change.
“Miller-Meeks should do her homework,” a Loebsack spokeswoman responded after reading Miller-Meek’s statements in The Iowa Independent.
Miller-Meeks and other national figures have criticized a provision within health care reform that changes 1099 tax filing requirements for businesses. Although businesses had previously been required to file 1099 forms for goods in excess of $600 when purchased from unincorporated persons or entities, the rules are set to change next year. At that time, businesses will need to file 1099 forms for any purchase of $600 or more from any individual, business or corporation.
The provision, which appears to have descended during negotiations within the Senate Finance Committee to which U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, played a significant role, has been labeled as cumbersome, especially for small businesses, and perhaps an ineffective means of garnering additional federal tax dollars.
“Dave voted to repeal the provision that places an undue burden on small businesses back in July,” noted the statement from Loebsack’s office. “Dave is committed to keeping the tax burden low on working families and businesses during these tough economic times, and will continue to work to help Iowa businesses recover.”
On July 30, members of the U.S. House voted on H.R. 5982, the Small Business Tax Relief Act of 2010. The vote was overwhelmingly partisan, with all Democrats but one voting in favor and all but two Republicans voting against. The measure, which was considered under a suspension of the rules and required a two-thirds vote, ultimately failed.
While the bill would have provided relief for small businesses by repealing the new 1099 requirements before they took effect, it proposed to cover the more than $19 billion, 10-year estimated tax shortfall from the repeal by eliminating tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas (estimated $11.6 billion in revenue), by preventing producers of unprocessed fuels from claiming the $1 per gallon cellulosic biofuel tax credit (estimated $1.885 billion in revenue), and by requiring a minimum 10-year term for grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs, estimated $5.272 billion in revenue), among others. The final result was a bill that would have repealed provisions that were enacted by health care reform, while enacting provisions to replace the estimated revenue streams associated with those removed.
In short, it paid for itself. And, according to the GOP Congressional website, the bill would have increased revenue by $149 million over a 10-year period, based on estimates by the Joint Tax Committee.
The bill was supported by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), which represents many of the nation’s small business owners, precisely because it repealed the 1099 tax law changes.
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