John,

Generations of Americans came together to build our Social Security system. 30 years later, they came together to build Medicare. Since then, both parties were in the grips of a mentality of privatization, where they believed that corporations could do anything better than the public.

Corporations took advantage of this by reaching into our pockets and stealing our money. They instituted a complicated bureaucracy filled with fees, delays, and fine print that screwed working Americans and made their stockholders rich.

If we’re going to shift back to building public systems in this country, we have to start by making it so that you don’t need to give hundreds of dollars each year to a private corporation in order to pay your taxes. To that end, the IRS is building a website that guides you through filing your taxes simply, completely free. TurboTax is furious.

Right now, the IRS’s system is just a pilot. TurboTax and H&R Block, which have spent millions of dollars lobbying the federal government to keep tax filing complicated so that Americans will be forced to spend an average of $250 each year on their products, are plotting to make the system fail. Our voices are necessary if we want it to succeed!

If we don’t act, the IRS system will only work for federal taxes―meaning many people will still file their state taxes through TurboTax. And if you already have to pay to do state taxes on TurboTax, why not skip the federal portal and only fill out one set of forms?

Each state has the opportunity to opt-in to the IRS Direct File pilot, but they only have until September 4th to do so. If every state takes part, the free competitor has a much greater chance to succeed―and prove that we can build things in this country again.

Make TurboTax mad: Tell your Governor to opt into the IRS Direct File pilot!

Thank you,

Michael Phelan
Social Security Works