Billy Long, President-elect Donald Trump choose to run irsHe faces questions about his qualifications to lead the tax agency from Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts who serves on the Senate Finance Committee.
Serving as a delegate, Long, a Republican from Missouri and a former auctioneer, co-sponsored legislation The purpose of which was to abolish most of the tax code. After leaving office, he served as a tax consultant to businesses seeking to utilize the controversial tax credit, Employee Retention Tax Credit, or ERTC.
In her January 9 letter to Long, Warren questions Long's tax expertise as well as his promotion of the ERTC, which has been. Marked For the high rate of fraud by the IRS. Unlike other recent IRS tax commissioners, Long does not have deep experience in the tax industry, nor does he have a degree in accounting or tax law.
,[Y]We lack significant management or tax experience – and the promotion of your credit that has been a “magnet”[s] “For fraud – raise serious questions about your qualifications to lead the IRS,” Warren wrote in the letter, noting that the Senate Finance Committee will hold her confirmation hearing earlier this year.
The Trump campaign and Long did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In a 2023 podcast, Long talked about his work with a firm called Lifetime Advisors, where he helped promote the ERTC to businesses, though Warren's letter states that the podcast was “including the Listen Notes website.” Has been removed from many podcast platforms.” , Apple, Spotify and YouTube.”
In the podcast, which CBS MoneyWatch heard in December before being deleted, Long said it was harder to qualify for the credit during its first iteration, but he helped make it easier for businesses to qualify while he was in Congress. of.
He said, “We went beyond saying that COVID has certainly had an adverse impact on your business, and waved it off, and you don't have to prove that you had any recession Was.” “We're having the best recovery we've had for people who have had the best two years of COVID ever.”
In the letter, Warren asks Long to provide information about his work with the ERTC, including whether the returns he worked to claim the credit have been challenged by the IRS. . Among the senators' other questions are whether Long directed anyone to delete the 2023 podcast, and how he earned the designation of “Certified Tax and Business Advisor,” a term he used to describe himself on his X profile. Have to do.
“Although you may bill yourself as a 'Certified Business and Tax Advisor,' this certification only requires three days of training,” Warren said. “There is no record of you on the IRS database of tax return preparers – a searchable directory that lists individuals holding credentials recognized by the IRS – nor do you appear in the Missouri Board of Accountancy database.”