Democrats accuse tax prep firms of undermining new IRS effort on electronic free file tax returns

By FATIMA HUSSEIN
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional Democrats are accusing big tax preparation firms including Intuit and H&R Block of undermining the federal government’s upcoming electronic free file tax return system. Letters obtained by The Associated Press show the lawmakers accuse the tax prep companies of lobbying against the new program, hiring former government workers to sway public interest against free file for all, and deliberately sabotaging a government program that offered free tax prep services. The Democratic lawmakers on Thursday demanded lobbying, hiring and revenue data to determine what’s going on. The tax prep companies say taxpayers already have the ability to file taxes free of charge and an IRS system is redundant.