Like properties, Trump knows how to pick ’em
Our president-elect has named former U.S. Rep. Billy Long of Missouri, a former auctioneer, to run the Internal Revenue Service. He boasts experience as a tax adviser. Trump in December praised Long for “32 years of experience running his own businesses in Real Estate and, as one of the premier Auctioneers in the Country.” Long, attended the University of Missouri, per Ballotpedia, but never graduated.
Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) serves on the House Ways and Means Tax subcommittee. He calls Long a “terrible mistake.”
ProPublica offers:
He advertises his credential as a certified tax and business advisor, and he adds CTBA to his name on his X profile. That profile encourages people to message him to “save 40% on your taxes.”
But tax experts told ProPublica that they have never heard of CTBA as a credential in the tax profession. The designation is offered by a small Florida firm, Excel Empire, which was established just two years ago and only requires attendance at a three-day seminar. That is in stark contrast to the 150 credit hours and the rigorous exams required to become a certified public accountant, a standard certification for tax accountants.
In most tax cases, only lawyers, CPAs and enrolled agents — federally authorized tax practitioners — can represent taxpayers at the IRS.
New Agers here in the 90s would print up business cards and hang out a shingle after receiving a laser-printed certificate from their $50 weekend workshop at the Airport Ramada. The incoming president thinks Long’s workshop qualifies him to run an agency with roughly 90,000 employees. (Long paid maybe $5,000 for his three-day training.) Students at Donald Trump’s one-time unlicensed “university” paid “between $1,495 and $35,000.“
Rachel Maddow offered her observations on Long’s qualifications.
CBS reports that Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has doubts about Long:
While serving as a representative, Long, a Republican from Missouri and a former auctioneer, co-sponsored legislation that aimed to wipe out much of the tax code. After leaving office, he served as a tax adviser to businesses seeking to employ a controversial tax credit, the Employee Retention Tax Credit, or ERTC.
In her Jan. 9 letter to Long, Warren raises questions about Long’s tax expertise as well as his promotion of the ERTC, which has been flagged by the IRS for its high rate of fraud. Unlike other recent IRS tax commissioners, Long doesn’t have a depth of experience in the tax industry, nor does he have a degree in accounting or tax law.
“[Y]our lack of significant management or tax experience — and your promotion of credits that have been “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 his confirmation hearing early this year.
During his time in Congress, ProPublica adds, “Long pursued legislation to abolish the IRS and establish a national sales tax.” Thirty percent, Maddow notes, an idea promoted since the 1990s by the Church of Scientology.
Only the best for Trump.