Just what we needed….
“Brian Krebs from the Washington Post is reporting that the Bush administration is proposing a new tax collection program that would force credit card companies to report merchants’ income to the Internal Revenue Service. The plan has come under fire from privacy groups, who say it will create another private sector database tied to Social Security numbers at a time when ID theft experts are urging companies to wean themselves from the use and collection of such information.”
You take this in conjunction with the new(er) proposed independent contractor rules that are being discussed and you begin to see how the IRS is hurting Small Business. If I didn’t know better, I would be forced to conclude that the IRS hates Small Business. I mean, what other explanation could their be for the continuing escalation of Small Business reporting requirements.
(Granted, as a Small Business Accountant, I see plenty of Small Business who attempt to operate “outside” the rules. Generally, they are out of business within 3 years, it is just to difficult to keep track of everything when one is constantly shifting funds and records. But the honest Small Business Owner’s life just keeps getting harder and harder.)
So the IRS has Congress breathing down their neck about the tax gap. Fine. But if one were to do an empirical evaluation, one would find that the Small Business Owner is shouldering a disproportionate percentage if the burden. Go pick on somebody your own size.