As Americans prepare for one of life's two true certainties, the Biden IRS has rolled out a new "direct file" pilot program for citizens to pay the taxman — but it's not exactly what it seems according to Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Earlier this week, the IRS announced the "full-scale launch of the innovative Direct File pilot and encouraged eligible taxpayers in 12 states to try the new service to file their tax returns online for free directly with the IRS."
NEWS: Our Administration has launched the Direct File Pilot Program.
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 12, 2024
Millions of taxpayers in 12 states now have a free, secure, easy option to file taxes directly with the IRS – with no surprise fees.
To check your eligibility, visit https://t.co/soLZtmi2a9. pic.twitter.com/hoKMpfXsPm
The Direct File program had been tested for "several weeks" during which "[t]housands of taxpayers...successfully used the system," according to the IRS. Calling the initial test a "success," the IRS advanced the Direct File scheme "out of the test phase" and opened the pilot program to some 19 million taxpayers.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO), however, is saying "not so fast" to the Direct File program — one which was not authorized by an act of Congress.
"This pilot program is simply a way to expand the power of the IRS that no one asked for, especially considering Americans already have numerous options for filing free tax returns," Smith said this week. "From the beginning, the Biden Administration tipped the scales in favor of a direct file program that the American people did not want or need," something Smith said is borne out by the fact that "hardly anyone has used the IRS system in their testing."
As Smith reminded, the "$15 million 'feasibility study'" for Direct File was "authorized by the Inflation Reduction Act" but the outcome of the study was "a foregone conclusion, and taxpayers are rightfully concerned about having the already distrusted IRS function as their tax preparer, filer, and auditor."
Read my full statement below ⬇️⬇️⬇️https://t.co/WfNBo0iGA0
— Rep. Jason Smith (@RepJasonSmith) March 12, 2024
"Additionally, the IRS has not been able to provide information about the overall cost of the direct file scheme, leaving many unanswered questions about how much the American taxpayers will be asked to fork over to develop and maintain a direct file program," Smith added.
Republicans on the Ways and Means Committee led by Smith — along with 12 state attorneys general — earlier banded together "in condemning the Biden Administration's efforts to unilaterally establish direct file without authorization from Congress," the chairman's letter reiterated. "I look forward to working alongside them to stop this bureaucratic grab in its tracks."
"We have a duty to protect the American taxpayer from an already supercharged IRS that exerts too much control over their lives," Smith pledged.