The IRS isn't doing this. Congress did it, because it's an accounting trick that lets them say something costs less than it actually does, because all of Congress' budgeting is on decade-long horizons, and they factor in theoretical wage/revenue/profit growth, so them front-loading the same tax receipts allows them to very easily lie about the actual cost of programs. They can pull 80% of the tax receipts from made up figures a decade from now into their government revenue calculations.

They're doing it this way because in the public eye big startups that write off salaries as tax expense look like tax avaiders.

In reality it will just punish bootstrapped companies.

The public eye, as in the general public, has little idea of what's going on in the startup world and let alone specific issues like this one.

> that write off salaries as tax expense look like tax avaiders

This doesn't increase the tax burden. After 5 years, most companies will be back to paying what they are paying now. This gives you a cash boost for this year and next few ones. After that, you just killed bootstrapped companies.

I have seen a lot of rhetoric about tech companies avoiding taxes; none of it has been that salaries effect a tax dodge.