Former U.S. Rep. Billy Long of Missouri, whom President-elect Donald Trump has named as his nominee to lead the IRS, is touting his expertise in tax matters.
He advertises his credentials as a certified tax and business advisor, and he adds CTBA to his name on his profile X. This profile encourages people to message him to “save 40% on taxes.”
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But tax experts told ProPublica that they had never heard of the CTBA as an authority in the tax profession. The designation is offered by a small Florida firm, Excel Empire, which was founded just two years ago and only requires attending a three-day workshop. This is in stark contrast to the 150 credit hours and rigorous exams required to earn a CPA, which is the standard certification for tax accountants.
In most tax cases, only lawyers, CPAs and enrolled agents—federally authorized tax practitioners—can represent taxpayers before the IRS.
“The cost of relying on tax advice from someone who is focused solely on minimizing your tax liability — as opposed to someone who is focused on both minimizing your tax liability and being tax compliant — can be extremely high if you will be found to violate the standards,” said Nathan Goldman, associate professor of accounting at North Carolina State University.
Excel Empire’s three-day certification course was advertised for $30,000; his upcoming session is advertised at $4,997. Matthew Pearson, one of its founders, said this summer on a podcast that about 135 people have earned the CTBA designation, which the firm developed to help people without tax experience become consultants.
Nina Olson, a well-known taxpayer advocate, said that in today’s tax industry there is a “proliferation of different groups and organizations that provide tax advice” and that consumers cannot know who is competent.
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“You may have taken a very short course and paid a lot of fees for that course, and it gives you the opportunity to put a few initials after your name,” said Olson, who served as a national IRS tax preparer. advocate from 2001 to 2019. She is currently the executive director of the Center for Taxpayers’ Rights, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that promotes fairness and access to justice in tax systems.
Tax experts said Long’s years of experience as a real estate agent and auctioneer — before he spent a dozen years in Congress — paled in comparison to the depth of tax policy or management experience of those who held those positions. For example, the current IRS Commissioner, Danny Werfel, previously served as IRS Commissioner and held leadership positions in the Office of Budget and Management. He also worked in the private sector as a managing director at the Boston Consulting Group.
Long’s experience in the tax world was narrower. In the two years since he left Congress, he has worked to win over clients of at least two sales firms. employee maintenance loan — a pandemic benefit designed to support companies that have retained workers despite revenue losses or disruptions caused by COVID-19.
The loan also attracted fraud that eventually landed on the IRSthe worst of the worst» tax fraud list. Two Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee announced the investigation into the firms on Wednesday, noting that Long had “no tax preparation background or any credentials as a licensed public accountant, attorney or registered agent.”
Costs up to $28,000 per employeethe credit was available for the 2020 and 2021 tax years and was widely used by both for-profit companies and non-profit organizations across the country. However, the IRS caused considerable concern about aggressive promoters pushing inappropriate businesses to make dubious claims. Red flags included inflated payroll figures, claims for entire quarters without proper entitlement, or references to minor government orders that did not directly affect business operations.
The IRS says it has recovered more than $1 billion from businesses that voluntarily reported wrongful claims. And he has launched hundreds of criminal investigations to try to recoup what he says are billions of dollars.
In a prepared statement in November, Werfel said businesses should review their claims and see if they were misled by firms selling the tax credit.
“They should listen to reliable tax collectors, not promoters,” he said.
In a 2023 podcast discussing his work at the two firms, Long joked that he had a hat with the lender’s name taped to his head. He said his work marketing the tax credit has caused some clients to question their CPAs’ advice.
“Hey, this auctioneer, real estate broker, former congressman told me I was going to get $1.2 million back,” he said. “Uh, you’re my CPA. Why didn’t you tell me that?” And he said the CPA’s response would be, “It’s a joke. This is a fake deal. This is not true. You will have to pay all the money back. You will be checked.”
But he said the firms he’s worked for have never seen the IRS reject any of their claims.
There is no evidence that Excel Empire, Long, or the firms he worked for — Lifetime Advisors of Hudson, Wis., and Commerce Terrace Consulting of Springfield, Mo. — engaged in wrongdoing. In the same 2023 podcast, Long emphasized that he and his colleagues only helped taxpayers who were eligible for benefits.
Neither Long, Lifetime Advisors nor Commerce Terrace Consulting responded to requests for comment.
If Long is confirmed and replaces Werfel, he will have the power to influence how Americans pay taxes and how the federal government collects revenue. Trump promised put an end to IRS “overreach” while Republicans said they would cut billions of dollars in funding handed over by the Biden administration to modernize the IRS and strengthen taxation.
The IRS and Trump’s transition team did not respond to requests for comment.
While he represented southwest Missouri in Congress, Long pushed for the bill cancel the IRS and establish a national sales tax. Billionaire Elon Musk, an adviser to Trump, recently asked X when an agency’s budget is to be “deleted.”
Like Long, Excel Empire members believe that accountants don’t see it as their job to save their clients money because they prefer compliance to planning and are too busy during tax season to discuss strategies. The company’s website claims the firm has saved taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
Edward Lyon, who is listed on the Excel Empire website as a chief tax planner and tax attorney, writes on his personal website that the seven most expensive words in the English language are: “My CPA takes care of my taxes.”
Lyon clarified on the podcast last year, noting that accountants “generally follow the rules,” but when it comes to lawyers, “we’re trained to understand the rules, but we’re trained to stretch the rules and bend them and poke at the rules and make an end run by the rules . It’s a much more active focus.” However, he has consistently emphasized that his company operates “legally, ethically and morally.”
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Company co-founder Pearson once described Lyons on a podcast as “the best active tax attorney in the country.” Lyon and Pearson declined to comment.
Lyon’s law license was suspended by the Ohio Supreme Court in 2005 for failing to comply with registration and fee requirements, and he has not reinstated it. He also does not appear to be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as an investment adviser.
Even so, Lyon says he has trained tens of thousands of tax and finance professionals. As the author of several books and a column, he claims to be one of the most widely read tax strategists in the country and commands $15,000 in fees and first-class travel arrangements.
Lyon has also developed several tax certification programs. On Excel Empire’s website, some officers, including Pearson, use a title coined by Lyons: tax wizard.
Appearing on another podcast, Lyons discussed how small businesses can be used as tax havens. As an example, he asked the host: Heather Wagenhals — who also holds the CTBA title — when she had a pool at her home where she taped her show.
“I am,” Wagenhals said. “That’s why I chose this one.”
Lyon replied, “Okay, I’m going to rock your world in five words, ready? A sports center for employees on the territory.”
“Oh my God!” said Wagenhals.
Lyons added, “It’s actually in the Internal Revenue Code, and nobody told you that.”
In another podcast, Pearson brags about firing an accountant who refused his request for advice on how to use a new Corvette “to avoid paying taxes.”
Olson said that attitude was troubling and that simplistic answers could create problems for taxpayers during IRS audits and in court. “A pool in someone’s home, even if employees are working from home and using it, will still require the court to look at the percentage of employee use versus personal use — and they will look very carefully at that,” she said.
