The Senate recently cleared legislation that would remove an unpopular tax reporting requirement from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), a provision that even the White House agreed is burdensome to many small businesses.

A provision in PPACA would require businesses to report and file IRS 1099 forms on all purchases of $600 or more to the Internal Revenue Service. Many healthcare groups and small business associations support the repeal of this language claiming the provision is too costly and would bury them in paperwork.

After starting debate to repeal or replace parts of the PPACA in January, Congress and the White House eventually agreed the 1099 reporting requirement should be eliminated. At press time, all indications suggest that the president will sign the bill.

“As the President said during the State of the Union, we are open to working with Republicans and Democrats to improve the health reform law, and we are pleased Congress has acted to correct a flaw that placed an unnecessary bookkeeping burden on small businesses,” said White House Press Secretary Jay Carney. “Small businesses are the engine of our economy and eliminating the 1099 reporting requirement is the right thing to do. As we move forward, we look forward to improving the tax credit policy in this legislation to ensure we protect small businesses and middle-class families. And the Administration remains eager to work with anyone with ideas about how we can make health care better or more affordable for all Americans.”