Kevin O’Leary is raising concerns about a little-known part of President Donald Trump’s recently passed economic package, calling it a disaster for small business owners.
O’Leary, the chairman of O’Leary Ventures and a longtime advocate for small business, tore into what he described as a buried provision in the president’s “big beautiful bill” that could result in years of financial uncertainty for millions of entrepreneurs.
“There’s a section in there that looks like a cut-and-paste that says the IRS will get extended powers to audit small businesses for up to nine years that took the ERC,” O’Leary said in an appearance on Fox Business.
“That is going to cause chaos in valuations. If you have that hanging over your head, it almost seems unfair and un-American.”
Pandemic Relief Now a Risk Factor
The Employee Retention Credit (ERC), which helped many small businesses survive the COVID-19 pandemic, is now at the center of what O’Leary sees as a punitive move by the federal government.
While acknowledging there was fraud in the program, O’Leary argues that giving the IRS more power to pursue all recipients isn’t the answer.
“Of course I took ERC because I had to to stay alive, and now they’re punishing me for it,” he said.
“To punish every small business in America this way makes absolutely no sense.”
Taking the Fight to Capitol Hill
O’Leary said he read the bill “through the eyes of small business” and plans to raise the issue with lawmakers.
“I’m heading down tonight to the Hill to get a gong and walk down the halls banging it, saying, ‘What are you guys doing here?'”
Good Intentions Overshadowed
Despite support in the bill for tax cuts, deregulation, and increased access to loans through the Small Business Administration, O’Leary insists those positives are being overshadowed by the audit provision.
“Everything else, I applaud any support for small business,” he said.
“But this overhanging war on small business from the IRS, that’s got to go.”
A Narrow Passage, A Big Debate
The bill, which narrowly passed the House 215-214, also includes funds for border security, energy production, and national defense.
Trump allies praised it as a turning point in restoring American manufacturing and trade balance, but O’Leary warned that few in Congress likely noticed the fine print affecting small businesses.
“I don’t think anybody reads these things,” he said.
Small Business Can’t Be Left Behind
O’Leary emphasized that small businesses make up 62% of job creation in the U.S. and cannot be left behind.
“Every small business in my portfolio has called me and said, ‘What the hell is this? Where did this come from?”
He ended the segment hopeful that lawmakers would fix the provision before final passage.
“I’m very optimistic this will get fixed before this ‘big beautiful bill’ passes,” he said.
“I don’t think enough people know about this.
With the bill now heading to the Senate, small business advocates will be watching closely to see whether the audit clause is challenged or quietly ignored.