On The Money: IRS watchdog: Millions had major problems getting tax refunds, stimulus payments | SBA to reopen Paycheck Protection Program on Jan. 15 | Top Democrat pushes for tying unemployment insurance to economic conditions

Happy Wednesday and welcome back to On The Money. I’m Sylvan Lane, and here’s your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line.

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THE BIG DEAL— IRS watchdog: Millions had major problems getting tax refunds, stimulus payments: The IRS “generally performed well” carrying out last year’s tax-filing season and issuing the first round of coronavirus stimulus payments, but millions of taxpayers encountered significant problems, according to a report issued Wednesday by the agency’s in-house watchdog.

• The COVID-19 pandemic led the IRS last spring — during the middle of the filing season — to temporarily close mail facilities, call centers and taxpayer assistance centers. 
• Around the same time, the IRS was tasked with issuing relief payments of up to $1,200 per adult and $500 per child that were authorized by the CARES Act.

National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins said in her report that the IRS did a good job handling the tasks it could automate, but  there were several areas where taxpayers had major difficulties in 2020, including millions experiencing lengthy delays in getting their refunds. The Hill’s Naomi Jagoda breaks it down here.

LEADING THE DAY

Top Democrat pushes for tying unemployment insurance to economic conditions: Incoming Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) on Wednesday said he will push for tying additional unemployment benefits to the state of the economy, as opposed to setting deadlines for their expiration.

“I’m going to push with every bit of my energy to make sure there are triggers to tie benefits to economic conditions, so the Senate doesn’t need to come back,” he told reporters.

• Key unemployment insurance provisions in the CARES Act from March expired in August after Congress failed to renew them, and others nearly expired in late December after President Trump delayed signing the latest relief bill.
• Benefits set to expire March 14 include an additional $300 a week for jobless Americans and assistance to self-employed and freelance workers. Some programs will continue paying benefits for eligible recipients into early April.

Wyden has long pushed for benefits to be tied to economic conditions so that they will phase out as unemployment drops to more manageable levels instead of expiring on an arbitrary date.

The Hill’s Niv Elis has more here.

SBA to reopen Paycheck Protection Program on Jan. 15: The Small Business Administration (SBA) on Friday will begin accepting applications for the second round of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, the agency announced Wednesday.

PPP-eligible lenders with less than $1 billion in assets can begin sending loans to the SBA for approval Friday, and the program will reopen to lenders of all sizes Tuesday, the agency said. The head start for smaller lenders is intended to ensure that smaller businesses can obtain PPP loans after many were unable to do so during the first round of disbursement in 2020. I’ve got more on the terms of the new round here.

GOOD TO KNOW

• Former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos considered whether she had the authority to forgive student loan debt during the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in March, but Trump administration lawyers determined it would be illegal, according to a memo released Wednesday.
• A third bank declared its plans to cut ties with President Trump and the Trump Organization on Tuesday in the aftermath of the riot at the Capitol last week.
• The Small Business Administration (SBA) has forgiven 1.1 million Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans amounting to over $100 billion, the agency announced Tuesday evening.
• Corporations and industry trade associations have contributed $170 million collectively to the campaigns of the 147 GOP lawmakers who voted to challenge the 2020 election results, according to a new report from progressive watchdog group Public Citizen.
  

ODDS AND ENDS

• The top Democrat on Facebook’s policy team, who is a former chief of staff to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), has left the social media company.

• Netflix gains female, minority employees in first diversity report

• Airbnb announced Wednesday that it is canceling all Washington, D.C. metro area reservations during the week of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration amid concerns of potentially violent demonstrations.