The most shocking thing about the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) is how long it took to stop after it started going wildly over budget.
In 2021, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that ERC would cost $86 billion. (That's after changes that increased it from the original $55 billion.)
By March 2023, the IRS paid out over $150 billion.
Then, last week, we found out it paid out $230 billion.
Finally, the IRS Commissioner froze the program.
Why did it take a 267% cost overrun to pause and put proper controls in place?
Why Did It Take a 267% Overrun to Pause the ERC?
