this post was submitted on 04 Feb 2025
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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/25117460

Summary

Elon Musk claimed on X that he eliminated the IRS team responsible for the "Direct File" program, which allows Americans to file taxes online for free.

His statement came in response to a right-wing influencer criticizing the program as government overreach.

However, the Treasury Department confirms that the Direct File system remains active, offering free tax filing with customer support.

The program, available in English and Spanish, is optional, allowing taxpayers to choose between using it or filing their taxes manually.

(page 4) 37 comments
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[–] [email protected] 104 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (8 children)

How the hell does this lower costs?

right-wing influencer criticizing the program as government overreach.

So the right is against self-service now? wtf

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[–] [email protected] 24 points 2 days ago

Oh man.

In Germany this would mean dismantling the only functioning digital government service. Haha.

[–] [email protected] 74 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Cruelty is the point. The goal is to make the lives of impoverished people harder.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 days ago (3 children)

https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions

Read the instructions, download what you need, print it out, fill it out, and mail it in.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago (2 children)

If you don't have capital gains taxes or deferred tax deductions, doing your taxes is really easy.

That said, this is a way to stop providing free services that private companies want to get paid to do. HR Block makes billions from people who are either too lazy or too bad at math to do simple stuff. Real accountants earn their living on complicated taxes, but millions of Americans can do a 1040 EZ, which takes about 5 minutes to fill out.

The statistics show that even though 70% of Americans are eligible to file for free with the IRS tools, only 3% actually use that tool to file for free. So I'm not sure how much business is even being lost here.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

And get fined because I'm overseas and the mail takes so long to get there the IRS fines me for a late filing

Last time the IRS sent me mail here it took almost half a year for me to receive it

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[–] [email protected] 165 points 2 days ago (9 children)

His statement came in response to a right-wing influencer criticizing the program as government overreach.

... HOW????? This movement simply has no real agenda or philosophy - they just want to burn everything down.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 days ago

Have you ever seen someone on social media who CLEARLY did not read the post they are responding to but saw a mention of AI or the word "implication" and posted the same tired old meme for points? And then notice that actually works because the vast majority of the internet doesn't want to discuss anything and just want to giggle at their comfort memes?

It is like that. Except they also want to enslave all lgbtq+ folk, brown people, and women. All while lining their pockets.

[–] [email protected] 101 points 2 days ago (1 children)

This movement simply has no real agenda or philosophy - they just want to burn everything down.

That is the agenda

[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Sorry - I don't mean "agenda" in the weird meaningless pejorative way that partisans use it but rather in the more traditional "plan of things to be done" manner. Like - these people have no problem statement with "here is how we will fix it".

[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 days ago

Yes, causing chaos is part of their "plan of things to be done."

If you want to know their agenda, read Project 2025.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 2 days ago

Private companies and consultants make millions on tax advice. Wrongly filed tax returns result in fines. Need I continue?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 days ago

I took what you said as the traditional meaning, there is no "fixing" unless destruction is fixing. Their "agenda", imo, is to tear down as much as possible, crash the economy, then buy up everything that they can; housing, businesses, etc

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[–] [email protected] 48 points 2 days ago

Nothing makes the government more efficient than cleaning house on the group responsible for bringing money into the government and which has an ROI of 5.

[–] [email protected] 51 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Man who pays someone else to do his taxes makes it harder for people who do their own taxes because he doesn't seem to understand how annoying and frustratingly difficult it is to file in USA

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 days ago

Stop thinking that these people are stupid and don't understand what they're doing. They know exactly what they are doing.

[–] [email protected] 41 points 2 days ago

He understands. His cronies make big bank from paid services.

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[–] [email protected] 66 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

In Denmark We've had easy tax filing on the Internet for more than a decade, and before that it was also extremely easy, as we got a form with all the usual data filled out, and we only had to send in if we had changes. I haven't done my taxes for 30 years!!!
Except when we bought a house we've had a few tax deductions on energy saving changes, which took 2 minutes to enter.

Every piece of standard information is collected automatically, like wages, bank info, stock profits, real estate taxes, and the rest if you have anything additional is super easy to fill out. The old paper tax return form is AFAIK completely abandoned since more than a decade ago.

USA under Trump with Elron Musk making it even worse is what we would call working like monkeys in a cage. If they really end this program, it makes it more difficult to do your taxes, AND cost tax payers MORE!!

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 days ago (10 children)

Even this easy file was ineligible for anyone who did any IRA which americans have to do to have retirment funds and is super common. Of course the idea was the thing was supposed to be expanded not sunk.

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[–] [email protected] 59 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (3 children)

Thanks, we know the rest of the modern world has it better in literally every way literally everywhere else. Can someone just like invade and save us please?

[–] [email protected] 44 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (3 children)

Unfortunately USA is extremely good at violence, probably the best in the world, so I guess you'll just have to fight it out amongst yourselves. But I wish all the best to all the reasonable Americans, that still believe in decency and democracy.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 2 days ago (1 children)

This is most accurate and depressing assessment of the United States I have ever read.

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 2 days ago (3 children)

I read the tweet. He is either referring to the people who are no longer there as being gone, or he is referring to the software, which is still here, as being gone. It seems clear he is referring to the people who are no longer there as being gone.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago

Neither of these statements have come to fruition yet thank God. Both the people and software are still there. And I'm hoping it stays that way. But things change real quick so I'm not holding my breath.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 days ago

Those responsible for sacking the people who have just been sacked, have been sacked.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 2 days ago

More fluff and smoke to generate outrage. Get that unelected creep out of our government.

[–] [email protected] 250 points 2 days ago (5 children)

I think I'll skip paying taxes this year, my religion states I cannot support terrorist groups.

[–] [email protected] 48 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (5 children)

Good luck with that.

But, in all seriousness: Everyone should do their taxes ASAP. If you are due a refund? File very quickly. If you owe money? Wait until the last possible minute. Because there are decent odds that we don't have an IRS after a month or two of this...


That said, DO make it a point to file state taxes regardless since those actually go toward things that, even in red states, are focused on the populace.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 2 days ago (12 children)

To late he just got rid of what takes to do our fucking taxes. I REFUSE TO USE TURBOTAX OR HR BLOCK OR ANY OTHER PREDATORY TAX FILING COMPANY.

Guess no refund for us and no child tax credit.

Btw what the fuck is Congress doing? This motherfucker should not be able to do any of this, yet no one stopping him.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I use cash app and it's free, or at least it was last year.

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 2 days ago (1 children)

You do you. Personally, I want to get my money while I still can. But if you would rather throw away you and your children's money then ... 'kay.

Because there are basically 3 outcomes for the IRS at this point

  1. musk et al completely destroy it and insist that income tax is no longer a thing and only sales tax exists. I forget if this is part of project 2025 but it is something republicans have been arguing for decades because it predominantly hurts lower income households
  2. Democrats do their fucking job and intervene and we file taxes normally
  3. musk et al completely compromise the IRS and make it a point to attack "the little guy" so they can insist they are hard on crime while actively ignoring all their cronies who refuse to ever pay taxes again.

And if you truly refuse to use any software? You can file by hand. I did back in college when I couldn't afford even fricking turbotax.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 days ago

Everybody with a 1099 should just refuse to pay taxes.

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