An IRS plan to test drive a new electronic free-file tax return system next year has got supporters and critics of the idea mobilizing to sway the public and Congress over whether the government should set up a permanent program to help people file...
On one side, civil society groups this week launched a coalition to promote the move toward a government-run free-file program. On the other, tax preparation firms like Intuit — the parent company of TurboTax — and H&R Block have been pouring millions into trying to stop the idea cold.
“What we have on our side is public opinion,” said Igor Volsky, executive director of the liberal Groundwork Action advocacy group. The IRS in May released a report that said most taxpayers are interested in filing their taxes directly to the IRS for free, and concurrently announced plans to launch the pilot program for the 2024 filing season. The goal is to test a direct file system that will help the IRS decide whether to move forward with a more permanent program.
Additionally, anyone can prepare and mail in their taxes for free, but the tax code is so complex that almost 50% of Americans use a tax prep company. IRS officials have estimated individual taxpayers pay an average of $140 preparing their tax returns each year.“An IRS direct-to-e-file system is redundant and will not be free – not free to build, not free to operate, and not free for taxpayers,” Plummer said, adding that it “will unnecessarily cost taxpayers billions of dollars.
H&R Block came under fire after congressional Democrats last week released a report stating that it was one of three large tax preparation firms that sent “extraordinarily sensitive” information on tens of millions of taxpayers to Facebook parent company Meta and Google over the course of at least two years.
Some countries also use “tax agency reconciliation,” where taxpayers who opt to participate provide the government with basic employment status information and the tax administrator sends them a return with their calculated tax liability.
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