Innovation Refunds in West Des Moines will lay off about 40% of its workforce after an IRS moratorium on a tax credit program
The program, which provides employers up to $26,000 per employee retained during the COVID-19 pandemic, is at the heart of Innovation Refunds’ business
The IRS says it is responding to growing suspicions of fraud and abuse of the program by ‘unscrupulous actors’
A West Des Moines firm confirmed Friday it will lay off 78 workers as of Oct. 19 after the U.S. Internal Revenue Service placed a moratorium on a troubled tax credit program at the heart of the company’s business.
Innovation Refunds, 4350 Westown Parkway in West Des Moines, reported the planned layoffs on Iowa Workforce Development’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, or WARN, website. The law requires employers to give notice of mass layoffs at least 60 days in advance.
The layoffs dovetail with an announcement Sept. 14 by the IRS that it had placed a moratorium at least through the end of the year on processing new claims for the Employee Retention Credit program. Innovation Refunds helps employers use the credit to receive tax refunds for keeping workers on their payrolls during the COVID-19 pandemic.