In this episode of the LendAPI Partner Podcast, host Timothy Li sits down with Ron James, a former senior retail executive at Walmart, Best Buy, and H&R Block who now runs Opscale Exchange. They dig into the billions of dollars in government tax credits — from R&D to tariff refunds — that small businesses leave unclaimed every year, and how LendAPI itself just recovered a six-figure R&D credit using Ron's team.
What You'll Learn:
The R&D Tax Credit, Demystified: Why the Research and Development Tax Credit isn't just for Microsoft and Amazon — any business taking a risk with an unknown outcome (including software teams) can qualify, and how LendAPI recovered roughly $500,000 by working directly with Ron's team.
$80 Billion Goes Unclaimed Every Year: The IRS estimates $80 billion in tax credits go unclaimed annually — not because of loopholes, but because most small businesses don't have the teams big companies use to find them.
From Katrina to COVID — How the ERC Was Born: The origin story of the Employee Retention Credit, which Ron's prior company recovered $6 billion of for U.S. businesses, and how it traces back to relief legislation written after Hurricane Katrina.
PPP vs. ERC — The Difference That Confuses Everyone: A clear breakdown of how the Paycheck Protection Program (a loan) differs from the Employee Retention Credit (a refund of payroll taxes already paid).
The Tariff Refund Opportunity: Why the government estimates $165 billion (and Ron's network believes closer to $1 trillion) in tariffs are refundable after recent rulings, what "importer of record" means for eligibility, and why working with a customs attorney — not just a broker — matters.
What the "Big, Beautiful Bill" Actually Changed: How the law made 100% bonus depreciation and cost segregation permanent, letting real estate investors and equipment buyers write off the full cost of an asset in year one instead of over 20–30 years.
10,000+ Credits, State to Federal: Why credits exist to shape behavior — hiring veterans (WOTC), keeping engineering teams onshore (R&D), even restaurant tip credits (FICA Tip Credit, worth $6M to one operator alone) — and why most businesses never hear about the ones that apply to them.
No Money Out of Pocket: How Opscale Exchange and its partner firms work entirely on contingency, plus new working-capital and tariff-refund-advance products that get qualifying businesses cash in 5–10 days instead of months.
About Opscale Exchange
Opscale Exchange helps small and mid-sized businesses recover tax credits and refunds — R&D, Employee Retention Credit, cost segregation, tariff refunds, and 10,000+ other federal, state, and local incentives — that typically go unclaimed simply because businesses don't know they qualify. Founded by Ron James, a former senior leader at Walmart, Best Buy, and H&R Block (and formerly head of the solutions team at Innovation Refunds, where his team recovered $6 billion in ERC for U.S. businesses), Opscale Exchange partners with top-100 law firms and specialty attorneys to file claims on contingency — no upfront cost — and is building a client portal to continually surface new credits as they qualify. Learn more at OpscaleExchange.com.
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