President-elect Donald Trump said Wednesday he wants ex-Congressman Billy Long, a Missouri Republican and former auctioneer, to lead the IRS. As a lawmaker, Long co-sponsored legislation that aimed to wipe out much of the tax code.
In making the announcement, Trump touted Long’s “32 years of experience running his own real estate businesses and as one of the nation’s top auctioneers.” He also noted that Long has worked as a business and tax consultant since leaving Congress in 2023.
Although Trump did not name the current IRS Commissioner, Danny Werfel, in his announcement, the decision indicates that the president-elect will likely replace him with Lindsay Owens, executive director of the Groundwork Collaborative, a progressive economic think tank, CBS MoneyWatch told.
While the next IRS chief drew both support from conservatives and criticism from the left, with Rep. Don Beyer, a Virginia Democrat who serves on the House Ways and Means Tax subcommittee, calling it a “terrible mistake,” while Idaho’s Republican senator Mike Crapo said in a statement that he looks forward to Long’s ideas for the tax authorities. The fiscally conservative National Taxpayers Union Foundation praised Trump’s pick and said Long could help reform the IRS.
Long has recently served as a tax advisor for companies seeking to implement a controversial tax credit, but unlike previous IRS commissioners, his background is largely outside the tax industry, experts noted.
“This guy is an auctioneer, that’s his expertise,” Owens noted. “This is an incredibly unserious choice.”
Werfel, who was appointed by President Biden, took office in 2023, with his term set to expire in 2027. Normally, presidents allow IRS commissioners to serve out their terms, as Mr. Biden allowed Trump’s former IRS appointee, Charles Rettig, before appointing Werfel to the role.
If the Senate approves his nomination to the IRS, Long would oversee an agency with 85,000 employees and an annual budget of more than $12 billion.
A Trump campaign spokesperson declined to comment.
Here’s what you need to know about Long and the IRS.
Who is Billy Long?
Long, who attended the University of Missouri but did not graduate, described himself on a website for his congressional run as a “fourth-generation resident of Southwest Missouri.” He praised his skills as an auctioneer, noting that he had been named the “best auctioneer in the Ozarks” seven years in a row.
Long also worked in real estate and in talk radio, where he hosted a show on an AM radio station in Missouri.
He closed his auction company, Billy Long Auctions, before being sworn into Congress in 2011, according to a local publication.
What professional experience does Long have with taxes?
As a congressman, Long co-sponsored several tax-related bills, including several attempts to eliminate the estate tax, as well as a measure called the Tax Code Termination Act.
That legislation would have wiped out much of the current tax code and replaced it with what the bill called a “simple and fair system” that would have applied “a low rate to all Americans.” Such flat taxes are considered regressive by many experts because low- and middle-income taxpayers would end up paying a larger share of their income than wealthy Americans.
“As a business owner, Billy knows firsthand how government regulation and heavy taxes can impact the small businesses that serve as our country’s economic engine,” according to his campaign website.
Although Long is not an accountant or CPA, he has been involved in tax consulting since leaving Congress. For example, in a 2023 podcast, he touted his work helping companies take advantage of the Employee Retention Tax Credit, a credit that the IRS has flagged for its high fraud rate.
In the podcast, Long also said that when he served as a congressman, he helped make it easier for businesses to claim the ERTC, noting that it was difficult to qualify for the credit during its first iteration.
“We went from the need to say that COVID has definitely negatively impacted your business to taking that away, and you don’t have to prove that you had a recession,” he said. “We are doing recovery work for people who had their best two years ever during COVID.”
The IRS says the ERTC targets employers who paid wages to employees between March 12, 2020 and January 1, 2022, and were suspended by government order during the pandemic or experienced a “required decrease in 2020 gross receipts or the first three calendar quarters of 2021.” The credit is also available to startups that started in late 2021 and had less than $1 million in revenue.
How does Long’s experience compare to that of previous IRS commissioners?
Long’s lack of experience in the tax industry sets him apart from other recent IRS commissioners.
Werfel, the current chief of the IRS, has a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and a master’s degree in public policy from Duke University, as well as a law degree from the University of North Carolina. He also held a number of government positions involved with operations and the IRS, including as acting commissioner of the IRS from May to December 2013, according to his biography.
Werfel’s predecessor, Charles Rettig, who was appointed by President-elect Trump, also earned several degrees, including a master’s degree in taxation. Before joining the IRS, Rettig worked as a tax attorney for more than thirty years and served as chairman of the IRS Advisory Board.
What happens now with the Tax Authorities?
The tax authorities did that under Werfel extensive audits from wealthy taxpayers and big corporations, recovering billions in unpaid taxes, efforts funded by the Inflation Reduction Act.
The IRS has also reduced the amount of time it takes for consumers to connect with an IRS agent, while also getting a free tax return system is called Direct File.
Some Republican lawmakers have opposed the expanded IRS funding. to claim the agency would use the money to hire thousands of new officers to increase scrutiny of middle-class taxpayers.
The Treasury Department had said funding could help the IRS hire nearly 87,000 full-time employees over a decade, but the agency did not specify whether those new hires would be accountants, customer service representatives or other types of employees. That figure also represented the total number of employees that could be hired, without calculating the impact of the number of IRS employees expected to retire or leave the department in the coming years.
Some Democratic lawmakers are raising concerns that Long, if confirmed, could disrupt the progress the IRS has made under Werfel.
Werfel “has done an excellent job of rebuilding the IRS, improving customer service and improving enforcement targeting wealthy tax evaders,” Rep. Beyer said in a statement. “Removing him will clearly signal Trump’s intent to make the agency less responsive to the American people, while simultaneously giving the green light to wealthy tax fraudsters to avoid their fair share of the tax burden.”
Still, Republican lawmakers expressed support for this choice, such as Senator Crapo, who highlighted “privacy and security issues” at the IRS and “inefficient use of resources.” He added, “I look forward to learning more about Mr. Long’s vision for the agency.”
