Trump Makes Filing Taxes More Costly and Difficult for Taxpayers, Benefiting Multi-Billion Dollar Tax Preparation Industry

Today, according to multiple reports, the Trump administration revealed plans to shut down the free direct-file service that allows qualified taxpayers in certain states to file their taxes with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) at no cost. The service, first implemented under the Biden administration, was praised by taxpayers for making tax filing simpler and more affordable. Since its inception, the multibillion-dollar tax preparation industry and its Republican allies have lobbied aggressively to eliminate this efficient, cost-effective service.

“Trump is blatantly making tax season less efficient and more costly for the average taxpayer to protect his elite allies in the multi-billion-dollar commercial tax prep industry,” said David Kass, ATF Executive Director. “Americans shouldn’t have to pay hundreds of dollars and spend hours doing their taxes when they could file directly with the government for free. We know direct filing works—it eliminates waste, improves tax revenue, and saves taxpayers money. This move exposes what’s really happening: it was never about efficiency. It’s about Trump and his billionaire allies taking money from our pockets to make the tax system worse and line the pockets of big business elites in this wealthy industry.”