The Tax Service will launch its own software for filling out tax returns
Now Americans are forced to resort to the services of private companies that produce special software, such as TurboTax, Tax Act and H&R Block Tax Software. Developers of such software have long been lobbying for the preservation of the status quo and blocking the possibility of the emergence of simple and free ways to fill out declarations. At the same time, 9 out of 10 Americans file returns electronically and spend an average of 8 hours and $140 on this. Theoretically, everyone who earns less than $73 thousand a year can receive free access to private software from the IRS as part of the IRS Free File program, but few people know about this and only 3% of the population uses it.
The market's largest firm, Intuit, just this month began paying fines to 4,4 million Americans as part of a $141 million settlement for misleading them about the possibility of filing their returns for free. Obviously, the launch of new software could hit the private software market, which is estimated at $14,4 billion. Therefore, in the first 3 months of 2023, Intuit and H&R Block have already increased lobbying spending by 18% and 29%. And Republicans, who have long been sharpening their grudge against the Tax Service, have already begun to speak out against the idea.
Author: Yan Veselov
