Why the f*ck is this happening? And Why is Donald Trump nominating him?
On a 2023 podcast, Billy Long swore up and down that he only worked with clients who actually qualified for the credit. He even claimed that if the IRS yanked a refund, he and his crew would give back the fees they charged. The companies he worked with, like Commerce Terrace Consulting (bragging about $400 million in tax savings) and Lifetime Advisors, didn’t bother to comment when asked.
When Billy Long, Trump’s soon-to-be IRS boss, bailed on Congress in 2023, he didn’t waste a damn second hustling for cash. Using all his connections as a Missouri Republican and a long-time auctioneer, he jumped into pitching this sweet pandemic tax credit deal.
The guy was everywhere—hitting up Hispanic Chamber of Commerce meetups and auctioneer conventions, wearing a f*cking hat that advertised the Employee Retention Tax Credit. He teamed up with companies that did the paperwork for a slice of the refund pie, and yeah, it worked. On some podcast, he bragged about how folks trusted him, saying he’d been around for 40 years in the auction biz, pulling in million-dollar refunds for his clients. He even threw in a “helping out their compadres” line for extra flavor.
But then the party came to a screeching halt. By September 2023, the IRS slammed the brakes on processing claims because the whole thing turned into a fraud shitshow. The credit, meant to help businesses keep their workers during the pandemic, became a goldmine for scammers and sketchy tax prep firms pushing ineligible people to apply. The IRS started screaming warnings about these shady companies, calling them out for wildly lying about who could qualify. And just like that, the cash flow dried up.
The tax refund frenzy ended up costing a hell of a lot more than anyone expected. What was supposed to be a $55 billion program exploded into a $230 billion beast, with some people saying it might hit $550 billion in the end.
Now, as to why hes a dumbass….
On a 2023 podcast, Billy Long swore up and down that he only worked with clients who actually qualified for the credit. He even claimed that if the IRS yanked a refund, he and his crew would give back the fees they charged. The companies he worked with, like Commerce Terrace Consulting (bragging about $400 million in tax savings) and Lifetime Advisors, didn’t bother to comment when asked.
Earlier this year, Billy hauled himself to D.C. to beg his old buddies in Congress not to kill the program, even though it was burning through cash like crazy. They didn’t shut it down, but now the IRS is back to processing claims with a bunch of new anti-fraud rules.
If Billy gets the top IRS gig, he’ll be in a spot to make it easier for folks to get the credit again. During his time hustling these claims, he admitted to convincing clients to ignore their accountants, who thought they didn’t qualify.
He bragged about how CPAs would throw up their hands when clients came back and said, “Hey, this auctioneer guy told me I’m getting $1.2 million—why the hell didn’t you tell me that?” And, according to Billy, the CPAs’ first reaction was to start talking shit about him. Classic move.
Sigh. SMH.