BY TONY SCOTT, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR – 10/13/23 12:30 PM ET As a former chief information officer for the Obama administration, and former CIO for Microsoft, The Walt Disney Co. and VMware, I’ve learned a few things over the past four decades about early indicators of a technology project’s chances of success or failure. Based on what I have seen…
by Erin Slowey Two states have explicitly said they’ll take part in an IRS-run free online tax filing tool pilot program that’s expected to kick off in time for the 2024 filing season, even though a report this week said the pilot won’t immediately support state tax return filing. California and Washington—which doesn’t have a…
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), in a report[1] dated October 2, 2023, concluded that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) likely inflated taxpayer interest in using an IRS Direct File tool for tax preparation because IRS used a flawed survey methodology. TIGTA also states: “Direct File cost estimates [by IRS] could not be…
Delivered Via Email September 12, 2023 The Honorable Elizabeth Warren U.S. Senate 309 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable Katie Porter U.S. House of Representatives 1233 Longworth House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Dear Senator Warren and Congresswoman Porter: I am writing today on behalf of the American Coalition for Taxpayer Rights…
The Internal Revenue Service just announced that it is developing government-run tax preparation software, with the likely goal of creating pre-populated tax returns.
Advocates claim that most people’s taxes are very simple and that the IRS already collects — or can gain access to — the information needed to prepare their returns. They also claim that pre-populating tax returns with this information would save taxpayers time and money and simplify the tax filing process. But would it?
President Joe Biden’s Treasury Department recently announced that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will begin testing a pilot program for Americans to file their taxes directly with the IRS. The idea may seem benign, but it’s actually quite insidious. The effort would trust bureaucrats to become America’s tax preparers and filers. Rather than easing Americans’ headaches over filing their taxes, this new government-run method would only worsen their filing woes.
The IRS should stay out of the tax preparation business. Before explaining why, let me tell you how we got here.
In May, the IRS released a report on the feasibility of the IRS preparing and filing tax returns. The Democrat-passed, and misnamed, Inflation Reduction Act gave the IRS $15 million to have an “independent third-party” tell Congress whether the IRS should create its own tax preparation software, called a “direct file” program.
New survey shows voters are satisfied with their current tax preparation method; want IRS to prioritize tax fairness and enforcement CAMBRIDGE, Mass., June 20, 2023 – Today, SocialSphere, Inc. released survey data conducted in collaboration with the American Coalition for Taxpayer Rights to shed light on voters’ views of the IRS and what policies they…
The American Coalition for Taxpayer Rights (ACTR) was formed in 2011 by the nation’s leading retail tax preparation and tax software companies and financial institutions, which collectively prepare and file more than 120 million of the 155 million federal tax returns annually. ACTR advocates for taxpayer rights and strengthens America’s voluntary tax compliance system.
