IRS: Wyoming job creators need you to do your job | Columnists

As someone who works in Washington, DC, I see many government dysfunctions firsthand. But there are few things I find more frustrating than when bureaucrats get in the way of job creators and their livelihoods. Case in point: We're currently witnessing a bureaucratic rodeo with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) 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 employees 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 on the payroll 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, construction companies and other essential businesses and industries running. Unfortunately, the IRS is being slow to process 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 vast 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 applications, it has decided to prioritize issuing denial letters for potentially fraudulent applications. The result is that small businesses that were promised the tax credit continue to languish.

Compounding the problem is the fact that 70 percent of small businesses nationwide have less than four months of cash on hand, according to a recent study by OnDeck. This is important because it has a trickle-down effect on the rest of the economy. Small business owners facing cash shortages are less likely to consider expanding their business, purchasing new equipment, or hiring new staff.

I'll be the first to say that cases of fraud and abuse should not be tolerated. Fraud should 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, driving innovation, creating jobs, and forming the backbone of the state's communities. These job creators are our family, our friends, and our neighbors. Let's stand together and demand that the IRS be held accountable and made to do its job. If the IRS isn't following the law, it's breaking it.

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