Today’s the federal tax filing deadline. And I’ve got one question for you: Can I let you in on a secret?

Tax prep corporations don’t want you to know this — but you could be filing your taxes for free.

Yep, for free. We just need a fully funded IRS to do it. Let me break it down:

Every year, when your W2s and 1099s come in the mail, your employer has already sent a copy to the government. So it’s no secret: They already know how much you make before you file your taxes.

So instead of all the scrambling, calculating, and late nights (did I just describe your weekend?), the IRS could simply send you a pre-filled tax form based on information they already have. You’d confirm the information, and send it back. A free filing system would take the head-ache — and the expense — out of doing your taxes.

I’ve got a bill to make sure we get this done. But Washington needs to hear that the American people are demanding action. Add your name to say you’re in this fight as a grassroots co-sponsor of my Tax Filing Simplification Act. [[link removed]]

So why hasn’t it already been done? Well, for years, tax prep companies like Intuit and H&R Block spent millions lobbying the government to stop the IRS from providing an easy-to-use Free File option. Republicans buddied up with them too, demanding that the agency stop “competing” with private companies. Oh brother.

So these corporations brokered a deal — a deal that was good for them, and lousy for us. They promised to offer low-income Americans free tax prep software, and in exchange, the IRS wouldn’t make a free filing program of their own, for everyone.

Since then, H&R Block and Intuit have undermined their own free filing options: Hiding them from search engine results and using slick design to trick clients into paying more. Because let’s be clear: These flimsy, free options were never meant to be easy or useful.

The consequence? Americans now waste an average of 11 hours and $200 on their tax returns. (Did I just describe your weekend again?) Tax filing is now a billion-dollar industry in the United States. And — I hope you’re sitting down for this — free filing has been implemented in just about every other country in the world. We are WAY behind.

But there’s hope to turn the tide. The Biden administration is pushing for an $80 billion funding boost to the IRS over the next 10 years. With proper funding, the agency could join the rest of the world in offering a free, easy-to-use service for all Americans to file their taxes.

In fact, my Tax Filing Simplification Act lays out all the steps for this. But the administration already has the authority to do it, and we'll keep working on getting the funding in future legislation.

We have the tools to do this now, and the benefits would be huge. We just need to fight for it, side by side.

Add your name to support my Tax Filing Simplification Act. As a grassroots movement, we can beat the corporate tax prep lobby. [[link removed]]

And once we get this done, we still need to stop billionaires and giant corporations from freeloading off everybody else by not paying any taxes.

Today, hard-working Americans are buckling down to make sure they’re paying what they owe. But tax time looks different for billionaires and giant corporations. They’ve already used armies of lobbyists to write themselves big loopholes in the tax code. And now they’re using armies of accountants to wriggle out of pitching in to fund schools, hospitals, roads, bridges, and everything else the rest of us pay for.

I’ll keep fighting back. We need a wealth tax on fortunes greater than $50 million, a Real Corporate Profits Tax, and a beefed-up enforcement budget for the IRS to crack down on wealthy tax cheats.

And we can make it happen together — by growing our grassroots movement and raising our voices.

Thanks for being a part of this,

Elizabeth

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