Investor and entrepreneur Kevin O’Leary has come out swinging against US President Donald Trump’s proposed tax plan, labelling a key portion of it as “anti-American” and a direct attack on small businesses.Speaking on Fox Business’s Varney & Co. Tuesday, O’Leary took particular issue with provisions that would give the IRS sweeping new audit powers related to the now-expired Employee Retention Credit (ERC).“This is war on small business,” said O’Leary. “That program’s over. They want to give new powers to the IRS to audit all those small businesses for up to nine years. That’s unprecedented.”The ERC was introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic to support businesses in keeping staff on payroll. O’Leary argued that most recipients acted in good faith and that giving the IRS retroactive power to audit these businesses could hurt them severely, especially as many may no longer have records to defend their claims.
House Republicans recently unveiled a large portion of the proposed 1,100-page bill, formally named the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act’, which combines $5 trillion in tax cuts with spending reductions in Medicaid, SNAP and clean energy credits. The tax package includes a temporary $500 increase in the child tax credit, higher estate tax exemptions, deductions on tips, overtime and car loan interest and an expansion of the SALT cap.But while O’Leary acknowledged that fraud may have occurred in the ERC program, he stressed the majority of businesses followed the rules and should not now face what he called “outrageous” scrutiny. “Somebody says, give the IRS power to go rip into them. That’s not okay”, he added.O’Leary called on lawmakers to revise the legislation before it reaches Trump’s desk, warning, “It won’t stop there,” if such powers are granted.
