The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has been tasked with developing a free government-operated electronic tax return system. The move is seen as a way to ease the burden on taxpayers and is part of an $80bn funding package aimed at bolstering the tax agency.
But the idea has met with resistance from commercial tax preparation firms such as Intuit and H&R Block, which have spent millions of dollars lobbying against it. The IRS is set to release the first of several reports next month on the feasibility of the proposal.
The Free File Alliance agreement that prevents such a move expired in 2019.
