The Paycheck Protection Programme (PPP) enacted by the US Congress in March 2020 furnishes an example of a spending programme that could have been structured as a tax provision. If it had been enacted as a tax provision, the PPP would almost certainly have been drafted more tightly, in a way that could support a precise revenue estimate. The Internal Revenue Service might have administered the PPP more effectively and at a lower administrative cost than was involved in using private banks. The lack of public hearings before enactment contributed to poor design of the PPP.