Wyoming's job creators need the IRS to do their job

By Ryan Taylor

By Ryan Taylor

As someone who works in Washington, DC, I see many government ills firsthand. But there are few things I find more frustrating than when bureaucrats get in the way of the people who create jobs and livelihoods.

Case in point: We are currently witnessing a bureaucratic hurdle at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that is botching the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) and leaving many small businesses in Wyoming in the lurch.

Congress established the ERC benefit in March 2020 as part of the bipartisan Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to help businesses retain workers during the pandemic.

The federal government has been using the ERC program since Hurricane Katrina in 2005 as a practical way to help employers keep their employees employed during crises and natural disasters.

In Wyoming and across America, the ERC program has been a lifeline for millions of Americans, keeping restaurants, home improvement stores, daycare centers, home builders and other essential businesses and industries open.

Unfortunately, the IRS is poorly processing ERC applications, and communities are paying the price. There are currently tens of billions in unclaimed funds and over 1.4 million applications pending, with some business owners waiting years for the assistance they were promised.

Instead of using its enormous resources to provide tax relief to American job creators, the IRS announced a moratorium on processing new ERC applications in September 2023.

Although the IRS has between 180,000 and 300,000 valid claims, it has decided to give priority to issuing denial letters to potentially fraudulent claims. The result is that small businesses that were promised the tax credit continue to falter.

To make matters worse, according to a recent study by OnDeck, 70% of small businesses nationwide have less than four months of liquid assets.

This is important because it has a trickle-down effect on the rest of the economy. Small business owners who face cash flow constraints are less likely to consider expanding their business, purchasing new equipment, or hiring new employees.

I am the first to say that cases of fraud and abuse should not be tolerated. Fraud must be rooted out and prosecuted wherever it occurs in government programs.

But the IRS cannot simply ignore legitimate, low-risk ERC claims and undermine the will of Congress by focusing exclusively on invalid claims. After all, the IRS's workforce of 78,000 employees is more than capable of processing these low-risk claims in a timely manner.

Growing up in Wyoming, I know that small businesses are the engine of Wyoming's economy. They drive innovation, create jobs, and are the backbone of the state's communities. These job creators are our family, our friends, and our neighbors.

Let's stand together to hold the IRS accountable and do its job. If the IRS is not following the law, it is breaking the law.

Ryan Taylor is CEO of 440 Strategies and grew up in Rawlins. He is a spokesperson for the Coalition to Preserve American Jobs (CPAJ), a national group of small business associations and responsible tax professionals.