We’ve repeatedly noted an onerous requirement under Obamacare that would bury small businesses under mountains of tax forms (see, for instance, Grace-Marie Turner back in May). Now that they’ve passed the bill and — presumably — found out at least part of what’s in it — the Obama administration is backing a repeal of that provision:

For the first time, the White House is asking Congress to amend the finished health care overhaul.

The Obama administration Monday urged senators to scale back a tax reporting requirement in the health care law.

The law requires businesses to track all cumulative purchases from vendors that total $600 or more in one year. The provision was designed to raise revenue for the health care law but has been universally panned by the business community, which anticipates a mountain of new paperwork to comply.

The amendment, from Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), would scale back the reporting requirements to cumulative purchases of more than $5,000 per year and exclude companies with fewer than 25 employees. So far, no Republicans have voiced support for the amendment.

“We are committed to reducing the gap between taxes legally owed and taxes paid,” Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius wrote in a letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell Monday. “However, the administration believes that the burden created on businesses by the new information reporting requirement on purchases of goods that exceed $600, as included in Section 6041 of the Internal Revenue Code as modified by Section 9006 of the Affordable Care Act, is too great.”

More here.