Democrats accuse tax prep firms of undermining new IRS effort on electronic free file tax returns
Congressional Democrats are accusing big tax preparation firms including Intuit and H&R Block of undermining the federal government’s upcoming electronic free file tax return system
WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats are accusing big tax preparation firms including Intuit and H&R Block of undermining the federal government's upcoming electronic free file tax return system and are demanding lobbying, hiring and revenue data to determine what's going on.
The lawmakers accuse the companies of lobbying against the new program, hiring former government workers to sway public interest against free file for all, and deliberately sabotaging a government program that had previously offered free tax prep services, according to letters obtained by The Associated Press.
On Thursday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., sent letters to the executives of Intuit, H&R Block, the American Coalition for Taxpayer Rights and the Free File Alliance, a group of tax preparation companies that provide free online services through the IRS website.
Warren and Porter are seeking specifics on the amount of money firms have made since being members of the Free File Alliance and information on the number of former government workers who’ve joined their firms in the past two years.
“Tax prep companies have engaged in a long and aggressive lobbying campaign to prevent the IRS from offering taxpayers a direct filing option,” the lawmakers' letter to Intuit CEO Sasan K. Goodarzi reads.
Derrick Plummer, an Intuit spokesman, said his firm will respond to the lawmakers' letter, adding that taxpayers already have the ability to file taxes free of charge. “An IRS Direct File system is redundant and will not be free — not free
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