{"id":110639,"date":"2025-06-13T20:04:52","date_gmt":"2025-06-14T01:04:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=110639"},"modified":"2025-06-13T20:04:52","modified_gmt":"2025-06-14T01:04:52","slug":"110639","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=110639","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.news-leader.com\/story\/news\/local\/missouri\/2025\/06\/12\/former-springfield-politician-billy-long-confirmed-irs-chief\/84170713007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Former Springfield politician confirmed to lead IRS after questions about past, experience<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Southwest Missouri politician\u00a0<a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.news-leader.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2025\/05\/20\/billy-long-irs-confirmation-hearing-donations-tax-credits\/83755159007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\">Billy Long<\/a>\u00a0has been confirmed to lead the IRS.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The U.S. Senate confirmed Long as the commissioner in a 53-44 vote Thursday, June 12, according to\u00a0<a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2025\/06\/12\/senate-confirms-billy-long-as-irs-commissioner-00403106\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|\u2691u\">reporting from Politico<\/a>. This concludes a lengthy process that began in December when President Donald Trump announced Long as his top pick for the role.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"gnt_ar_b_h2\">Who is Billy Long?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Long is a Springfield native. He owned his own auctioneer business from 1979 to 2011,\u00a0<a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/bioguide.congress.gov\/search\/bio\/L000576\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|\u2691u\">according to his Congressional biography<\/a>. Long has also worked as a real estate broker and radio host. As of July 2023, Long has been\u00a0a Realtor with\u00a0<a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.murney.com\/bio\/billylong\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|\u2691u\">Murney Associates<\/a>, according to the Missouri Real Estate Commission.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al\" aria-label=\"advertisement\">\n<div id=\"ad-slot-7103-mo-springfield-C1042-native-article_link-news-local-features_missouri-3-ac1\" class=\"gnt_x_sl gnt_x_al\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-method=\"llx\">Since March, Long has worked as a senior advisor at the Office of Personnel Management, an agency in the executive branch that serves as the government&#8217;s human resources department. According to <a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.finance.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/responses_to_questions_for_the_record_to_william_long.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|\u2691u\">the records of the confirmation hearings<\/a>, Long was paid the maximum salary for a federal employee on the general schedule scale for Washington D.C. of $195,200.<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">He has been a longtime supporter of Trump, often emphasizing that he supported the president-elect before others in the Republican Party.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_img\">\n<div class=\"gnt_em_img_ccw gnt_em_img_ccw__cap gnt_em_img_ccw__crd\" data-c-caption=\"President Trump waves to the crowd at the Springfield-Branson Airport while accompanied by Rep. Billy Long and Sen. Roy Blunt (obscured) on Wednesday, August 30, 2017.\" data-c-credit=\"Andrew Jansen\/Springfield News-Leader\">Long served as a representative in Congress from 2011 to 2023. There, he sponsored a total of 46 bills, 13 of which were about health care. He also <a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/113th-congress\/house-resolution\/129?s=8&amp;r=2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|\u2691u\">sponsored a bill<\/a>\u00a0that was &#8220;expressing the sense of the House of Representatives&#8221; that Congress should not pass legislation that would tax or confiscate personal savings accounts.<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<aside class=\"gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al\" aria-label=\"advertisement\">\n<div id=\"ad-slot-7103-mo-springfield-C1042-native-article_link-news-local-features_missouri-4-ac2\" class=\"gnt_x_sl gnt_x_al\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-method=\"llx\" data-x-c=\"2\"><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.news-leader.com\/story\/news\/politics\/elections\/2021\/08\/10\/rep-billy-long-kicks-off-campaign-missouri-us-senate-seat-republican-primary\/5540361001\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\">In 2022, Long ran for Senate<\/a>\u00a0and lost to then-Attorney General Eric Schmitt.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><strong>In 2013, Long\u00a0<a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/billy-long-confirmed-irs-commissioner-67cd8daaa53a53c4ebf1262de1ede5e6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|\u2691u\">co-sponsored a bill<\/a>\u00a0to abolish the IRS.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">He\u00a0<a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.news-leader.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2019\/12\/19\/missouri-rep-billy-long-45-trump-bills-money-pocket-impeachment\/2700977001\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\">went viral in 2019<\/a>\u00a0with his novelty $45 bills with Trump&#8217;s face in the middle.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"gnt_ar_b_h2\">Pointed questions during confirmation hearings<\/h2>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">During the confirmation hearings, senators, particularly Democrats, grilled the former congressman on his ties to companies involved with controversial tribal tax credit schemes, donations he received from associates of those companies and his own work with a pandemic-era incentive that sparked thousands of fraudulent claims. Long denied any wrongdoing, according to\u00a0<a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.news-leader.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2025\/05\/20\/billy-long-irs-confirmation-hearing-donations-tax-credits\/83755159007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\">Missouri Independent reporting<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">According to the<a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.news-leader.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2025\/04\/21\/billy-long-irs-pays-off-campaign-debt-donations-criticism\/83193773007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\">\u00a0Missouri Independent<\/a>, Long\u2019s campaign committee had $130,000 in debt in December, from money he had loaned the campaign himself. A month later, his Senate campaign committee raised $137,000, with much of the money coming from executives at the companies accused of selling fraudulent tax credits. Democrats had called for a\u00a0<a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cortezmasto.senate.gov\/news\/press-releases\/cortez-masto-wyden-call-for-criminal-investigation-into-evidence-of-fraud-by-promoters-affiliated-with-irs-nominee-billy-long\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|\u2691u\">criminal investigation<\/a>\u00a0of Long&#8217;s connections to the tax schemes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Long said he was in compliance with the Office of Government Ethics regarding his nomination and did not have the perception that the tax credits were invalid. He also noted that he had only referred the credits to a few friends.\u00a0During his opening statement, Long vowed to make long-needed changes to the IRS if confirmed and assured Republicans he would develop a modernization plan for the agency.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al\" aria-label=\"advertisement\">\n<div id=\"ad-slot-7103-mo-springfield-C1042-native-article_link-news-local-features_missouri-5-ac3\" class=\"gnt_x_sl gnt_x_al\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-method=\"llx\" data-x-c=\"3\">Democratic members of the Senate Committee on Finance also said staff had received allegations that Long was &#8220;an unindicted co-conspirator&#8221; in a <a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.news-leader.com\/story\/news\/local\/ozarks\/2025\/06\/02\/donald-trump-pardons-former-arkansas-senator-jeremy-hutchinson-bribery\/83989878007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\">multi-million-dollar bribery scheme<\/a> involving a Springfield nonprofit organization and several other politicians and lobbying firms. Long denied being involved or knowing any of the people involved.<\/div>\n<div data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-method=\"llx\" data-x-c=\"3\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"gnt_x_sl gnt_x_al\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-method=\"llx\" data-x-c=\"3\"><span style=\"font-size: 28px; font-weight: 900;\">What are Billy Long\u2019s qualifications?<\/span><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">After losing the 2022 Senate race, Long went into business as a &#8220;certified tax and business advisor,&#8221; according to his profile on X, formerly known as Twitter. A certified tax and business advisor is a title given to those who complete a CTBA course with Excel Empire, a West Palm Beach, Florida, company, according to\u00a0<a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.news-leader.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2024\/12\/09\/trump-wants-springfields-billy-long-to-head-irs-heres-what-to-know\/76798608007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\">previous News-Leader reporting<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cBilly brings 32 years of experience running his own businesses in Real Estate and, as one of the premier Auctioneers in the Country,\u201d Trump\u00a0<a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/posts\/113596942661402416\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|\u2691u\">said in a previous post<\/a>\u00a0on his social media platform, Truth Social,\u00a0<a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.news-leader.com\/story\/news\/politics\/elections\/2024\/12\/05\/trump-billy-long-internal-revenue-service\/76794747007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\">according to USA Today reporting<\/a>. &#8220;Since leaving Congress, Billy has worked as a Business and Tax advisor, helping Small Businesses navigate the complexities of complying with the IRS Rules and Regulations.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_img\">\n<div class=\"gnt_em_img_ccw gnt_em_img_ccw__cap gnt_em_img_ccw__crd\" data-c-caption=\"Missouri Rep. Billy Long speaks to the media after a rally for his bid to receive the Republican U.S. Senate nomination at the White River Conference Center on Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2021.\" data-c-credit=\"Nathan Papes\/Springfield News-Leader\">It does not appear that Long is registered as an <a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/taxexperts.naea.org\/expertdirectory\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|\u2691u\">enrolled agent<\/a>, which is a federally licensed tax practitioner who can prepare taxes and can represent taxpayers before the IRS, and he is not certified by the\u00a0<a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/acatcredentials.org\/find-a-tax-pro\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|\u2691u\">Accreditation Council for Accountancy and Taxation<\/a>\u00a0or listed in the IRS&#8217;s\u00a0<a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/irs.treasury.gov\/rpo\/rpo.jsf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|\u2691u\">&#8220;Directory of Federal Tax Return Preparers with Credentials and Select Qualifications.&#8221;<\/a><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<aside class=\"gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al\" aria-label=\"advertisement\">\n<div id=\"ad-slot-7103-mo-springfield-C1042-native-article_link-news-local-features_missouri-6-ac4\" class=\"gnt_x_sl gnt_x_al\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-method=\"llx\" data-x-c=\"4\" data-google-query-id=\"CJ2Ntabb740DFY3gGAIdCJQiVQ\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/7103\/mo-springfield-C1042\/native-article_link\/news\/local\/features_missouri_3__container__\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.news-leader.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2021\/04\/17\/2022-missouri-senate-race-springfield-congressman-billy-long-hold-mar-lago-fundraiser-donald-trump\/7270860002\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\">In 2021, Long attended a fundraiser<\/a>\u00a0at Mar-a-Lago, Trump&#8217;s club in Palm Beach, Florida, at Trump&#8217;s request. Tickets for the event started at $2,900. U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, who represents southeast Missouri, also attended a fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago around the same time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">During his time in Congress, Long ran several fundraising events in\u00a0<a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.news-leader.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2016\/09\/22\/billy-long-returns-las-vegas-fundraising-event-luxury-resort\/90736300\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\">Las Vegas<\/a>\u00a0and Springfield.\u00a0<a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/docquery.fec.gov\/cgi-bin\/forms\/C00460063\/1696360\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|\u2691u\">In his 2022 campaign<\/a>\u00a0for Senate, he raised more than $1.3 million.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">While Democrats had raised concerns that Long will allow political interference from the Trump administration, Republicans said Long had assured them he was qualified, according to Politico.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Long will begin as the agency is undergoing major changes amid\u00a0<a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.news-leader.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2025\/04\/16\/irs-layoffs-40-percent-reduction\/83123269007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\">reductions in workforce<\/a>\u00a0and accusations that the Department of Government Efficiency has mishandled sensitive taxpayer information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former Springfield politician confirmed to lead IRS after questions about past, experience Southwest Missouri politician\u00a0Billy Long\u00a0has been confirmed to lead the IRS. The U.S. Senate confirmed Long as the commissioner in a 53-44 vote Thursday, June 12, according to\u00a0reporting from Politico. This concludes a lengthy process that began in December when President Donald Trump announced &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=110639\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[79],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-110639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-government"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=110639"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110639\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":110640,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110639\/revisions\/110640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=110639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=110639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=110639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}