President Repeals 'Burdensome' Paperwork Requirements For Landlords

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - With a stroke of a pen, the president has given a reprieve to people with rental properties.

President Obama has repealed a law that would have created extra paperwork for people with rental properties. David Caplan, a CPA in Lafayette Hill, said the requirement would have forced landlords to issue 1099 forms for every contractor performing work valued at $600 or more on the property. He called it a paperwork nightmare for the landlord's accountant.

"I'm the one that has to tease out of them who they paid money to and get names and addresses, social security numbers or federal id numbers to the paperwork, get it back to them and file it with the federal government," Caplan said.

It was designed to crack down on contractors working under the table, but Caplan said, "The bottom line was it just didn't make sense overall and it was more of a burden for the taxpayer than the benefit the government would receive." The requirement would have taken effect January 1, 2012.

Reported by Lynne Adkins, KYW Newsradio 1060