Dec. 18 (UPI) — Democratic senators are demanding answers on President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for IRS commissioner. They are asking about former Rep. Billy Long’s work to promote a pandemic-era tax credit, which has been the subject of fraudulent claims.
The lawmakers sent two letters Wednesday to companies Long, R-Mo., worked with, asking how he promoted the Employee Retention Tax Credit, how much money he made, how many claims were filed and whether any applications were considered fraudulent.
The letters were sent to tax advisory firms Commerce Terrace Consulting in Missouri and Lifetime Advisors in Wisconsin, which “reportedly paid Long on a contingency basis for ERTC refunds received by clients he referred,” according to Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev.
“Long’s work peddling ERTC claims is deeply concerning in light of the industry level of fraud that has taken place across the scam-plagued ERTC industry,” wrote Wyden and Cortez Masto.
“During a podcast interview last year, Long stated that there were many situations where a CPA would not sign off on a client’s ERTC claims but allegedly told them to ‘Go back to Billy. Let Billy do it for you,'” the letters claim.
The letters ask the heads of both companies to respond to 15 questions before Jan. 2.
“This information will help senators better understand Mr. Long’s fitness to oversee tax administration and the enforcement of federal tax laws,” Wyden and Cortez Masto wrote.
The IRS has called out the promotion of the ERTC, which current commissioner Danny Werfel labeled a “gold rush for promoters.”
While Werfel is only halfway through his five-year term, he will likely be fired with Trump’s nomination of Long. IRS commissioners are allowed to serve as civil administrators across different administrations and parties.
The IRS became a political talking point during the election after Democrats budgeted $80 billion for the agency to step-up enforcement and auditing. While the agency said the funding was needed to collect millions from wealthy tax evaders, Republicans in Congress cut the IRS enforcement budget by more than 90%.
