BARRASSO, CRAPO SEND LETTER BLASTING IRS POWER GRAB
 Senator John Barrasso |
 Senator Mike Crapo |
U.S. Senators John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Finance, led their colleagues in a letter to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Danny Werfel.
The letter set forth the following points:
- “We write with serious concerns regarding your agency’s recent unilateral and unauthorized action to create a permanent Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Direct File tax preparation program.
- The American people do not want an all-encompassing IRS acting simultaneously as the tax collector, tax auditor, tax enforcer, and tax preparer.
- The IRS does not have unlimited resources and should focus on improving information technology systems, data privacy, and long-standing customer service issues.”
- The IRS Direct File program is not adequately equipped to support tax returns for the tens of millions of Americans who have anything other than extremely basic returns. For example, Direct File excluded many categories of taxpayers, such as those who own their own businesses, collect income from property and investment, or work as independent contractors, such as ride-share drivers and delivery workers.
- Taxpayers already have access to numerous free tax-filing options and dozens of national non-profit entities offer tax preparation services at no cost. More than 30 million taxpayers annually utilize these services, which are far more effective.
The letter continued with these questions:
- What is the specific statutory basis for the IRS launching and maintaining a permanent Direct File program?
- How does this cited authority demonstrate Congress’ clear intent that the IRS permanently undertake such a program?
- How does the IRS respond to the claim that the recent ruling from SCOTUS (Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo) reaches situations of administrative overreach, like the unilateral creation of a Direct File program?
- What funds does the IRS believe Congress specifically appropriated for the purpose of launching and maintaining a Direct File tax system?
- Did the IRS reallocate or otherwise redirect funds obligated to or originally anticipated to be spent on other programs and initiatives, like Taxpayer Services, to pay for the creation of the pilot and permanent Direct File programs?
- If so, please provide information detailing how much funding and which accounts the money was shifted from, as well as which accounts money will be shifted from in the future.
- Does the IRS believe that any of its current or anticipated future employees will be hired into, reassigned, or otherwise redirected to support the Direct File program?
- If so, please provide information detailing the IRS’ estimates for the next five fiscal years of the number of such employees, the sectors from which they are moving, and the reasons for (or causal factors contributing to) the employee joining the Direct File program.
- The IRS claims the Direct File pilot program was a success despite TIGTA’s report from June 25, 2024, which found that the IRS met only three of seven of its self-identified key requirements for Phase A of the Direct File pilot program.
- GAO also found that the pilot would not collect data to adequately inform cost/benefit analyses of the IRS running a Direct File program.
- How could the IRS claim its program launch was a success when it fell short on key metrics and requirements, or that its reviews of the merits of the initiative are reasonable when both government oversight agencies tasked with reviewing the IRS have flagged them as fundamentally flawed?
- What is the IRS doing to address concerns raised by 21 state financial officers who believe taxpayers might be harmed from the impact the Direct File program will have on state and local tax filing?
- How will the IRS address the scope of the Direct File program to interact properly with the state and local tax filing process across numerous tax jurisdictions?
- The IRS has repeatedly sidestepped concerns about the inherent conflicts of interest in operating a Direct File program, many of which have been previously raised with you publicly (including in unanswered questions for the record to you from your last hearing with the Senate Finance Committee) and privately. To hone a few of these:
- How will the IRS act with respect to taxpayers whose Direct File-prepared returns are subject to audit or judicial review?
- For example, what position will the IRS take when a taxpayer asserts that he or she was reasonably relying upon the advice provided by Direct File (or an IRS employee or contractor supporting Direct File)?
- How will expanding Direct File to include additional taxpayers (and tax filing situations) change the IRS’ actions with respect to the taxpayers described in (a), if at all?
- Does the IRS have plans to expand the scope of its Direct File program for taxpayers filing returns for pass-through business income or corporate income?
- Have there been any discussions about expanding the scope of the Direct File program to business tax filing?
- How will the IRS account for taxpayers who may have investment income?
CONCLUSION
We applaud these two Senators for pushing back against the Elites and their minions who believe that they know best. The IRS isn’t fooling anyone when they claim that they are undertaking this unauthorized activity “for the taxpayer’s benefit.”
The elites and their minions are trying to create a system where the IRS is indeed the tax collector, tax auditor, tax enforcer and tax preparer. They want individual taxpayers to have as little control over their own taxes as possible. Ultimately, they want a system where the IRS can simply demand whatever it wants, and the taxpayer has no alternative but to pay what the IRS says they owe.
Senators, if you are concerned about this brazen power grab by the elites, you need to go beyond just writing letters to the IRS. You need to spearhead a movement to scrap the present income/payroll tax system and replace it with the FAIRtax.
The FAIRtax:
- Is so simple everyone can understand and comply with it without having to hire expensive professional help.
- Shows the true cost of the federal government on every retail receipt so all of us can understand how much we are paying, and determine if the benefits that we are receiving are worth the cost.
- Helps U.S. companies compete with foreign competitors and not move overseas.
- Keeps jobs in the U.S. rather than exporting them to other countries.
- Permanently establishes the solvency of Social Security and Medicare.
- That eliminates special treatment for any group of taxpayers.
- Benefits lower income groups more than the present income/payroll tax system and is FAIR.
- Eliminates the need to file tax returns.
- Eliminates the need for the IRS!
- Allows each of us, not the Elites and their minions, to determine the amount of federal tax we pay.
- IS THE LARGEST TRANSFER OF POWER FROM D.C. TO THE PEOPLE SINCE THE CONSTITUTION WAS ADOPTED.
D.C. is ignoring the one real solution that allows us to remain citizens and not subjects, the FAIRtax. The FAIRtax is simple, non-invasive, but most of all, IT WORKS!
The American people will overwhelmingly support the FAIRtax if they are given the chance and all of us will benefit.
Please go to this link to invest in AFFT and help us pass the FAIRtax. It’s an investment in your and your family’s future.
THE SOLUTION—PASS THE FAIRTAX!
Why would D.C. pass the FAIRtax and give up this almost unlimited source of donations? The only way that they will is if the rest of us demand it!
Isn’t it time to end this ludicrous tax collection system and the IRS?
There is going to be a vote on the FAIRtax in the House of Representatives.
We now have the opportunity to force all Members of the House to show where they stand. They can:
- Vote for the present income/payroll tax system or for the FAIRtax.
- Support the corrupt income tax and the IRS or eliminate it. It can’t be any simpler than that.
- Hide the true cost of their government or pass the FAIRtax and show everyone the true cost of government on each retail receipt.
- Support the largest transfer of power from government to the people, the FAIRtax, or not.
If Members think that the FAIRtax needs to be amended to address a problem, then they can propose the change. Don’t reject the entire bill because it has a perceived “flaw” that can be addressed and, if it is a real “flaw”, corrected in the final bill.
HELP BRING ABOUT REAL TAX REFORM AND STOP FUTURE IRS ABUSES
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Please go to this link to invest in AFFT and help us pass the FAIRtax. It’s an investment in your and your family’s future.