|
| | |
|
July 18, 2000
(House)
H.R. 1264 - Right-to-Know National Payroll Act
(Hoekstra (R) Michigan and 23 cosponsors)
The Administration opposes House passage of H.R. 1264. This bill would
require employers to provide additional information on their employees' W-2
forms that is not necessary for tax filing purposes. This information is
easily ascertainable from information currently found on W-2 forms; the
employer share of old age, survivors, and disability insurance and hospital
insurance taxes is identical to the employee share reported on the form.
Providing this information would require altering W-2 forms and software,
creating an unnecessary burden and imposing costs on employers, and
modifying unnecessarily one of the most important parts of the tax-filing
process without adding any value to that process. The Administration
estimates that modifying the W-2 form in this manner would increase the
paperwork burden imposed on all employers by almost 15 million hours. This
burden does not account for the cost to employers of converting software.
Adding unnecessary information to the W-2 could also lead to transcription
errors on 1040 tax forms. It would also make tax preparation more
expensive and increase IRS processing costs. This legislation contradicts
the goals of tax simplification and reduction of the employer compliance
burden. In addition, this bill does nothing to improve the Social Security
system or to improve the solvency of the Social Security Trust Fund. The
Administration encourages the Congress to take steps proposed by the
President to accomplish these important goals.
|
|