New ethics filings reveal connections between IRS commissioner-pick Billy Long and companies promoting a pandemic-era credit associated with fraud and tribal tax credits the Treasury Department has said is not authorized by law or regulation.
President Donald Trump late last year tapped the former House Republican from Missouri to lead the tax collection agency. Long disclosed that he earned $247,397 in income for referral and consulting fees related to a fraud-plagued pandemic-era credit, and he earned income from a company selling tax credits Treasury says don’t exist, ethics filings show.
Long already faced criticism from Senate Finance Committee Democrats over his promotion of the employee retention tax credit, created in the pandemic to help employers retain workers, but subsequently became riddled with fraudulent claims. The new disclosures show ties to White River Energy Corp., an oil and gas company that has worked with a network of promoters to sell the “sovereign tribal tax credit.”
White River claims to have received billions of dollars in “sovereign tribal tax credits” through a joint venture formed in 2023. Treasury has said there is no such credit authorized by law, regulation, or interagency agreement.
Officials from the White House, Treasury, and the Office of Personnel Management—where Long is currently an adviser—didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Long’s disclosures, released to Bloomberg Tax by the Office of Government Ethics, state that he earned at least $5,000 in a year from White River Energy Corp., of Fayetteville, Ark., for a “Referral to Capitol Edge Strategies.” He stated his duties at Capitol Edge were as a “referral agent.”
Capitol Edge Strategies’ website includes resources explaining the tribal tax credit. It lists its founder as Mark Speake, who also is president of tax advisory firm Commerce Terrace Consulting LLC, according to Democrats’ letters and his LinkedIn page.
Long, who also worked as a radio host and auctioneer, listed income related to the employee retention credit from several entities in his disclosures: $89,500 from Billy Long Strategies LLC; $92,065 from Commerce Terrace Consulting; and $65,832 from Capitol Edge Strategies LLC. He also noted earnings from real estate-related sales, fees, and commissions.
Long recently defended his work related to employee retention credits while meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. The Senate Finance Committee has yet to schedule a hearing on his nomination.
Nominees for Senate-confirmed positions are required to disclose their positions held outside the government and their sources of compensation exceeding $5,000 in a year for the preceding two calendar years, according to the OGE. Their employment assets and income, and retirement accounts, should be disclosed for the preceding calendar year.
Long in his disclosures stated he is “owed referral fees from Commerce Terrace Consulting, LLC for work previously completed. I will receive the fees before I assume the duties of the position of Commissioner, or I will forfeit them.”
Senate Finance Democrats have been scrutinizing Commerce Terrace, along with another tax consulting company Lifetime Advisors, seeking more information related to their relationship with Long.
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