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ACTR Praises Rep. Smith For Bill to End Direct File

Washington, July 24, 2024 — The American Coalition for Taxpayer Rights (ACTR) today released the following statement on legislation introduced by Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE), a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee, to prohibit the IRS from continuing, or developing a successor to, its misguided and unnecessary Direct File pilot program:

 

“Rep. Adrian Smith’s bill is a commonsense proposal to eliminate an unpopular, redundant program. Only a handful — 0.7% of the 19 million eligible Americans — used Direct File this year, compared to the 26.7 million free returns the tax preparation industry provided. These statistics show Americans are not interested in the federal government completing their taxes. The IRS could better use these resources to strengthen other, more popular free filing programs, such as the Free File Alliance, and improve customer service.”

 

The American Coalition for Taxpayer Rights is a 12-member, voluntary coalition of the nation’s leading tax preparation, tax software and financial services settlement companies. Each year, ACTR member companies serve approximately 110 million of the more than 150 million Americans who file federal income tax returns.

Partnerships

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.

Tax Preparers

Financial Institutions