Plaintiff Trying to Reverse Noncompete Ban Is Trump's Tax Adviser

G. Brint Ryan has advised Trump on tax policy. His company is dedicated to ‘liberating our clients from the burden of being overtaxed.’

BY DAVID DAYEN APRIL 24, 2024

A company owned by a Republican megadonor and tax adviser to Donald Trump has filed suit to block the Federal Trade Commission’s noncompete rule, just hours after it was finalized.

Ryan LLC is a Dallas-based business tax firm known for aggressively working the tax code to lower payments for corporate clients, mostly in the states. The company’s website describes its mission as “liberating our clients from the burden of being overtaxed.”

It specializes in “reverse audits,” finding taxes that they believe companies shouldn’t owe, and pitching other companies on making the same claims, while asking for as much as 30 percent of the proceeds. Ryan has even sued its own clients if they decline to go after certain refunds.

A 2022 USA Today profile describes Ryan LLC’s style as a combination of belligerence toward state tax officials and overwhelming them with refund claims. Officials in North Dakota complained internally that Ryan burdened and antagonized tax officials there, by “throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks with little to no effort on their part to provide meaningful documentation.”
https://prospect.org/justice/2024-04-24-noncompete-ban-ftc-trump-tax-adviser/