Billy Long, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to run the IRS, is dealing with questions on his {qualifications} to steer the tax company from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts who serves on the Senate’s Finance Committee.
While serving as a consultant, Long, a Republican from Missouri and a former auctioneer, co-sponsored legislation that aimed to wipe out a lot of the tax code. After leaving workplace, he served as a tax adviser to companies searching for to make use of a controversial tax credit score, the Employee Retention Tax Credit, or ERTC.
In her Jan. 9 letter to Long, Warren raises questions on Long’s tax experience in addition to his promotion of the ERTC, which has been flagged by the IRS for its excessive charge of fraud. Unlike different current IRS tax commissioners, Long would not have a depth of expertise within the tax business, nor does he have a level in accounting or tax regulation.
“[Y]our lack of great administration or tax expertise — and your promotion of credit which have been “magnet[s] for fraud” — elevate severe questions on your {qualifications} to steer the IRS,” Warren wrote within the letter, noting that the Senate Finance Committee will maintain his affirmation listening to early this yr.
The Trump marketing campaign and Long did not instantly reply to requests for remark.
In a 2023 podcast, Long talked about his work with a agency referred to as Lifetime Advisors, the place he helped promote the ERTC to companies, though Warren’s letter notes that the podcast seems to have been “pulled down from a number of podcast platforms, together with the Listen Notes web site, Apple, Spotify and YouTube.”
In the podcast, which CBS MoneyWatch listened to in December earlier than it was taken down, Long stated qualifying for credit score was tough throughout its first iteration, however that he helped make it simpler for companies to be eligible whereas he was in Congress.
“We went from having to say COVID adversely affected your enterprise undoubtedly, to taking that away, and you do not have to show that you just had any downturn,” he stated. “We’re doing recoveries for folk that had their greatest two years ever throughout COVID.”
In the letter, Warren asks Long to offer details about his work with the ERTC, together with whether or not any returns he had labored on claiming the credit score have been challenged by the IRS. Among the senator’s different queries are whether or not Long directed anybody to tug down the 2023 podcast, and the way he earned the designation of “licensed tax & enterprise adviser,” a time period that he has used to explain himself on his X profile.
“Although you invoice your self as a ‘Certified Business and Tax Adviser,’ this certification seems to solely require a three-day coaching,” Warren famous. “There is not any file of you on the IRS’ database of tax return preparers — a searchable listing that lists people who maintain credentials acknowledged by the IRS — nor do you seem within the Missouri Board of Accountancy database.”