With Billy Long in as IRS Commissioner, It’s Time to End Biden-Era Weaponization

Billy Long's confirmation as President Trump's new IRS Commissioner signals a pivotal moment for much needed tax reform in America. With the White House committed to eliminating federal government waste and abuse, the IRS – long diverted from its core mission of impartial tax collection – can finally be reined in. Under the Obama and Biden Administrations, the IRS morphed into a political weapon, selectively targeting American businesses and conservative groups. Now, the opportunity to restore fairness is within reach.

The Biden Administration’s aggressive IRS expansion was never about improving service or curbing fraud. It was about power. By creating a federal enforcement arm under the guise of tax compliance, the IRS sought to harass political opponents.

Few policies embody this abuse more clearly than Revenue Ruling 2024-14. On paper, it reads like a technical rule change. In reality, President Biden created a whole new division, the IRS Pass-Through Unit, granting the IRS dangerous new discretion and serving as Biden’s parting shot to entrench regulatory overreach.

This new IRS rule invokes the so-called “economic substance doctrine” to crack down on standard transactions commonly used in related-party partnerships.

This isn't just about tax enforcement – it’s about weaponization. It’s about using the federal tax code as a tool to intimidate and punish businesses that don’t align with the progressive orthodoxy.

Business groups like The National Taxpayers Union, National Association of Manufacturers, Americans for Tax Reform, and the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council have sounded the alarm, warning that the rule is vague, retroactive, and ripe for abuse. Their message is clear: this regulation creates uncertainty, chills investment, and disproportionately hurts the very businesses driving America’s economy.

Congress has joined the outcry, questioning why the IRS prioritizes politically-motivated audits over addressing genuine non compliance. Revenue Ruling 2024-14 is not an isolated misstep;  It’s part of a larger, dangerous pattern of government overreach, where unelected bureaucrats in Washington pick winners and losers based on politics, not policy. If left unchecked, many more businesses will be targeted, hindering economic growth, business innovation, and free enterprise.

Thankfully, change may be on the horizon. President Trump and Commissioner Long have the opportunity to rescind Revenue Ruling 2024-14, dismantle Biden-era overreach, and restore the IRS to its intended role: a neutral and fair agency focused on fair tax administration.

Conservatives in Congress are right to demand swift action, recognizing that this rule is more than a misguided policy, it’s a warning sign of how far the deep state will go to play political favorites with tax law.

The time for reform is now.  President Trump and Commissioner Long have the momentum to end the weaponization of the IRS, restore fairness, and once again stand up for the American businesses that power our country. The future of free enterprise depends on it.

Javier Manjarres is based in Miami/Fort Lauderdale and is a nationally renowned award-winning political journalist, author, and Publisher of The Floridian, Dome Politics, Texas Politics, and Cactus Politics.