In May 2024, in a huge win for digital government in the United States,
the Treasury Department announced #Direct #File would be a permanent, free tax filing option.
A government survey of 11,000+ filers had found that 90% ranked the user experience was “Excellent” or “Above Average,” after a pilot with ~140,000 Americans,
saving an estimated $5.6 million.
Over the last year, the IRS has kept building, coming tantalizingly close to the vision of prepopulating a tax return with the data the Treasury already holds about us,
including name, address, Social Security number… and a W-2, according to the New York Times.
What’s less clear is whether Direct File will survive this administration: newly confirmed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Congress that it would operate this tax season during his confirmation hearing,
-- but only said he’d “study” it for the future, signaling doubt.
It will be an early test for whether a historic success in digital delivery can survive the ire of corporations who want it to go away in the Trump age.
https://civic-texts.ghost.io/direct-file-shows-how-civic-tech-can-work-for-good-2/