We own a distant rental home and pay a manager 10% of the rent plus expenses to keep it productively rented and maintained by providers. Who issues whom a 1099 and why?

[robert-e-browning]

The party that finally pays over $600 to a provider issues a W-9 to get the TIN and corporate status, then a 1099 if the provider is unincorporated.

[Hal_Al]

The manager because that's his business to handle all the details of being your property manager.

Q. If you did not have a middleman manager, would you then be required to issue a 1099-MISC?

A. No. 

It became a little fuzzy under the  2018 tax law.  But, landlords are, generally, still not require to issue 1099 forms to service providers.

References: http://www.forbes.com/sites/irswatch/2013/03/06/should-landlords-be-filing-1099s-for-service-provide...

But, a landlord 1099 may be required to qualify for the Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction. Reference: https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/do-landlords-need-to-file-form-1099-misc.html

Most rental properties do NOT qualify for the QBI deduction. Reference: https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/investments-and-rental-properties/discussion/do-i-need-to-issue-a-...