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    Advocates gather in Washington, D.C. to call out tax prep companies for blocking simplified filing

    Exposed: Republicans Trying to Kill Free 'Direct File' Program Funded by For-Profit Tax Prep Industry

    "Direct File should be expanded, kept permanent, and be held up as a model for government programs enacted to help average Americans—not corporate America."


    Julia Conley
    Jan 30, 2025

    The popular, free Direct File program introduced by the Internal Revenue Service in 2024 is being expanded this tax season despite the objections of dozens of congressional Republicans—but an analysis released Thursday reveals why GOP lawmakers are so intent on ensuring the Trump administration ultimately eliminates the program and forces taxpayers to rely on services from private tax filing corporations.

    The 29 Republicans who sent a letter to President Donald Trump in December asking him to end Direct File with a "day-one executive order" have received more than $1.8 million in campaign contributions over the course of their careers from "Big Tax Prep and their proxies," said the consumer advocacy watchdog Public Citizen.

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    News
    direct file
    Advocates gather in Washington, D.C. to call out tax prep companies

    Doing For-Profit Tax Industry's Bidding, GOP Calls On Trump to Cancel Direct File Program

    "This is the most efficient way and cost-efficient way for millions of people to pay their taxes," said one advocate.

    Julia Conley
    Dec 11, 2024

    Responding to the "absurd" news that more than two dozen U.S. House Republicans are calling on President-elect Donald Trump to end the Internal Revenue Service's Direct File program, Rep. Gerry Connolly came to one conclusion: "Republicans want to make your lives more difficult."

    The Virginia Democrat wasn't alone in denouncing a letter penned by Reps. Adrian Smith (R-Neb.) and Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.) and signed by at least 27 other Republicans who called on Trump to sign a "day-one executive order" to end the free tax-filing program that allowed roughly 140,000 taxpayers to save an estimated $5.6 million in filing costs this year.

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    News
    taxation
    person holding paper near pen and calculator

    New 'Direct File' Pilot Program Shows It Doesn't Have to Be Hard to Do Your Taxes

    If it seems unnecessarily complicated and time-consuming, it’s because it is.

    Donald Cohen
    Feb 23, 2024

    A nation needs tax revenue to pay for the things we all need and that should be held as common goods and services. We have no trouble paying taxes, though we certainly wish the wealthy paid their fair share. What we, and lots of other people, have trouble with sometimes is filing taxes. If it seems unnecessarily complicated and time-consuming, it’s because it is. While the U.S. tax forms might be only a handful of pages long, the instructions for filing taxes runs to over 130.

    Every President since Ronald Reagan, Democrats and Republicans alike, have promised a system of free and direct filing. This year, President Biden is taking the first steps to fulfilling that promise with the pilot program launch of Direct File.

    Keep ReadingShow Less
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