The software, which resembles commercial offerings from companies like Intuit and H&R Block, allows taxpayers to file directly to the government free.
But a senior Treasury Department official, who answered reporters’ questions about the program on Friday on the condition of anonymity, said that the Biden administration would make a decision in the coming weeks about whether to renew the software for the next tax filing season.
Before the development of the website — which was coded by IRS employees, the White House’s U.S. Digital Service and the General Services Administration in a matter of months — IRS officials told Congress that it might cost $64 million to $249 million per year to run a free tax filing website, depending on how many people chose to use it.
The agency also spent more than an additional $10 million for an initial study and report to Congress on the idea of a free filing site.
Werfel promised a more detailed report on costs, and interviews with taxpayers, state officials, and software companies, before a decision is made on whether to renew the program.
When Werfel testified at a Senate Finance Committee hearing earlier this month, Republican committee leader Sen. Mike Crapo of Idaho called Direct File “wasteful and duplicative.” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) questioned Werfel about the full costs of the program, saying, “I for one hope … at some point you just decide it’s not worth it, because the private sector options are so much better.”
The original article contains 687 words, the summary contains 246 words. Saved 64%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The software, which resembles commercial offerings from companies like Intuit and H&R Block, allows taxpayers to file directly to the government free.
But a senior Treasury Department official, who answered reporters’ questions about the program on Friday on the condition of anonymity, said that the Biden administration would make a decision in the coming weeks about whether to renew the software for the next tax filing season.
Before the development of the website — which was coded by IRS employees, the White House’s U.S. Digital Service and the General Services Administration in a matter of months — IRS officials told Congress that it might cost $64 million to $249 million per year to run a free tax filing website, depending on how many people chose to use it.
The agency also spent more than an additional $10 million for an initial study and report to Congress on the idea of a free filing site.
Werfel promised a more detailed report on costs, and interviews with taxpayers, state officials, and software companies, before a decision is made on whether to renew the program.
When Werfel testified at a Senate Finance Committee hearing earlier this month, Republican committee leader Sen. Mike Crapo of Idaho called Direct File “wasteful and duplicative.” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) questioned Werfel about the full costs of the program, saying, “I for one hope … at some point you just decide it’s not worth it, because the private sector options are so much better.”
The original article contains 687 words, the summary contains 246 words. Saved 64%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!