Sarasota congressman Steube cosponsors bill to outlaw IRS direct tax filing program

A burgeoning Internal Revenue Service program that would allow Americans to file their taxes directly with the federal government has come against opposition from congressional Republicans, including Sarasota Rep. Greg Steube.

Steube co-sponsored the “IRS Overreach Prevention Act,” introduced by Reps. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., and Chuck Edwards, R-North Carolina, in July. The bill is meant to "prohibit the Secretary of the Treasury from implementing or continuing a free, public electronic tax return-filing service option.”

Its language barely stretches to two pages:

“The Secretary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s delegate) may not continue the Direct File program of the Internal Revenue Service, and may not develop or provide to taxpayers any successor program which provides a free, public electronic return-filing service option.”

https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/local/sarasota/2024/08/29/steube-cosponsors-gop-bill-to-eliminate-irs-direct-tax-filing-program/74985354007/

You can't say Steube without saying stupid.

Republicans are reflexively against anything that helps the people save money; their constituency is the business community. Steube stands on the side of Intuit (TurboTax) and H&R Block instead of on the side of his constituents.

I used the Direct File program this year instead of manually filling out tax form hardcopies, and I thought it quite easy if a little tedious to use (you have to enter virtually all the data on any 1098/1099 forms).