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

Earlier this week, Trump’s Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Billy Long revealed in a Senate hearing that they have officially shut down the free direct-file service. This service allowed qualified taxpayers in certain states to file their taxes with the IRS at no cost. First implemented under the Biden administration, the service was praised by taxpayers for making tax filing simpler and more affordable. Since its launch, the multibillion-dollar tax preparation industry and its Republican allies have lobbied aggressively to eliminate this efficient, cost-effective service.

“Trump is blatantly making filing taxes more difficult and 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 to billion-dollar companies 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 in Trump’s Administration: 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 predatory industry.”