|
John,
There are many ways Donald Trump can reward his billionaire friends who helped get him elected. Here’s one: How about nominating a congressman who has spent years trying to dismantle the IRS, to finally accomplish this mission as its leader?
Trump’s pick for IRS Commissioner, former congressman Billy Long, has a troubling history of antagonism against the agency. During his time in Congress, Long repeatedly co-sponsored legislation to replace income taxes with a national 30% sales tax -- a move that would shift the tax burden away from billionaires, and onto working families.
At the same time, current IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel has been delivering real results for everyday Americans. Since taking office in 2023, Werfel has focused on cracking down on wealthy tax cheats, recovering over $1 billion from ultra-rich tax evaders, and rolling out Direct File, a free online filing tool that has already saved Americans millions of dollars.
Long’s nomination seeks to put an end to these priorities. Instead of enforcing fairness, Long has spent his career fighting for millionaires and billionaires at the expense of the rest of us. After leaving Congress in 2023, Long went to work as a consultant to help employers exploit the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) -- a program rife with fraud, costing taxpayers billions.
Send a direct message to the Senate: Reject Billy Long for IRS Commissioner, and protect the progress we’ve made for working families now.
Billy Long is the wrong choice to lead the IRS.
The IRS needs a leader committed to ensuring fairness for all, not one who will empower millionaires and billionaires to evade taxes. Long has repeatedly fought to abolish the IRS and replace taxes on income and estates with a regressive 30% national sales tax -- a scheme Trump has openly considered.
Despite lacking accounting expertise, Long worked in an industry that exploits the Employee Retention Tax Credit, bragging that businesses he consulted with “had their best two years ever during COVID,” while taxpayers footed the bill.
Long bought stock in Innate Immunotherapeutics -- a company embroiled in an insider trading scandal that implicated former Rep. Chris Collins -- while serving on a health subcommittee. And he has a history of politicizing the IRS, including pushing to strip tax-exempt status from legitimate nonprofits like the Humane Society.
Long has never served on the House Ways and Means Committee, which oversees tax policy, nor does he have any relevant experience in tax enforcement or tax administration.
This nomination is an attack on economic fairness. The IRS needs a leader committed to holding the wealthiest accountable -- not someone who will dismantle the agency to serve Trump’s billionaire allies.
Tell the Senate: Reject Billy Long’s nomination and protect the IRS from Trump’s dangerous agenda.
Thank you for taking action to ensure the IRS serves all Americans, not just the wealthiest few.
Robert Reich
Inequality Media Civic Action
|
