After Doge meets with lobbyists, puts free tax filing tools on chopping blocks
When the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) arrived at the IRS earlier this year, leaders of the group assured workers that the agency’s free tax filing tool, Direct File, would be exempt from cuts. But just a few days after meeting with tax software lobbyists, familiar tools are placed on chopping blocks, with familiar multiple sources telling the connection.
The program could kill a free tax filing tool developed by the IRS, which was initiated by Sam Corcos, CEO of Andreessen Horowitz, and has ties to SpaceX. Multiple familiar sources say Corcos’ proposal to cut mass services was proposed to Finance Minister Scott Bessent in early March.
Corcos suggested ending direct documents one weekend before he made a positive statement to the IRS engineers. By Friday, he changed the tune. As the source said, direct documents will remain online during the 2025 tax season, but may die next year.
“The tone changed throughout the week,” a source said. The decision to end the direct document was “everywhere”.
A few days after the weekend meeting, Corcos told multiple sources that he had met with Free File Inc. (formerly the Free File Alliance), a group of tax preparation software companies that work with the IRS to provide free online tax filing services. The group was organized by Intuit more than 20 years ago, which was a means of providing free application services to low-income taxpayers over 20 years ago. In return, the IRS promised not to create its own government-run online filing system.
Prior to the inauguration day in January and next month, including Steve Davis, the CEO and president of Boring Company of Elon Musk and Amy Gleason, acting administrator for Duger Services, said they were impressed by the direct file project and reassured the engineering team that worked here, which was safe. (Although Davis left the administration last month, he continued to chair the meeting and issued orders to Doge representatives. This included Corcos, who reportedly refused to cooperate and Davis tried to expel him.)
The IRS did not immediately respond to a request for comment from wired. Corcos is now the Chief Information Officer of the Finance Department.
“We think [the IRS] It should be put down and they should focus on other key priorities,” David Ransom, a tax lobbyist representing the U.S. Taxpayer Rights Alliance, told Notus in April. There are at least two tax preparation companies that are taxed by U.S. taxpayer rights, tax gauges and taxpayer rights, taxpayers and free files, and are also part of 20211.
Before Intuit left, ProPublica reported that the code had been introduced to the company’s free file website, which essentially obscures the services of search engines such as Google, so it’s almost impossible to find without direct navigation.
