In a post on X, unelected government official Elon Musk revealed that he has cut the staff of the Internal Revenue Service that oversaw the system that allows Americans to file their taxes for free easily on its website.A right-wing MAGA influencer called the "direct file" tax program a "far left go...

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/25117460

Summary

Elon Musk claimed on X that he eliminated the IRS team responsible for the “Direct File” program, which allows Americans to file taxes online for free.

His statement came in response to a right-wing influencer criticizing the program as government overreach.

However, the Treasury Department confirms that the Direct File system remains active, offering free tax filing with customer support.

The program, available in English and Spanish, is optional, allowing taxpayers to choose between using it or filing their taxes manually.

  • sushibowl@feddit.nl
    22·
    8 hours ago

    So the right is against self-service now? wtf

    You may want to look into Grover Norquist and his organisation Americans for Tax Reform. It is one of the most influential political lobbying groups in the United States, and it has the support of essentially the entire republican party. They essentially consider tax to be evil on principle and ask every politician to sign a pledge opposing any tax hike.

    ATR is strongly against automatic filing, as they want to keep taxes difficult and complicated to stoke anti-tax sentiment. That is to say, they fear that if filing tax is easier, citizens would be less likely to fight taxes in the way that the ATR wants (mostly they like a low flat tax, because it’s simple and good for rich people).