ATR together with 20 other conservative, free market organizations today called on Congress to make the Free File program permanent.
Since the program’s inception, this public-private partnership has been used by over 40 million taxpayers who have saved $1.3 billion in preparation costs. The program, which is available to 70 percent of taxpayers, also saves the federal government hundreds of millions in administrative costs.
The full letter can be found here and is below.
Dear Congressmen Roskam and Kind,
On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we write in support of the Free File Program Act of 2016.
By making the Free File Program permanent, your legislation guarantees quality, free, and efficient online tax preparation and electronic filing services for millions of families across the country.
At almost 75,000 pages, the U.S. tax code is one of the most complex in the world. In fact, Americans spend more than 6.1 billion hours and $168 billion complying with the code each year.
The reality is, it is difficult or impossible for most taxpayers to file their own taxes.
The Free File program is critical to addressing this complexity. The program offers 70 percent of taxpayers, or those making less than $62,000, access to electronic filing software provided by leading private companies free of charge.
Since the program’s inception, over 40 million taxpayers have used the service and saved $1.3 billion in preparation costs. The program also saves the federal government hundreds of millions in administrative costs because of increased efficiency.
Not only does this legislation make Free File permanent, it encourages more innovation within the program to better prevent fraud, protect against identity theft, and ensure taxpayer data is safeguarded.
Members of Congress should have no hesitation supporting this important, commonsense legislation and making the Free File program permanent for the millions of Americans that rely on it each and every year.
Sincerely,
Phil Kerpen
President, American Commitment
Grover Norquist
President, Americans for Tax Reform
Dan Weber
President, Association of Mature American Citizens
Norm Singleton
President, Campaign for Liberty
Jeffrey Mazzella
President, Center for Individual Freedom
Neil Bradley
Chief Strategy Officer, Conservative Reform Network
Tom Schatz
President, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste
Katie McAuliffe
Executive Director, Digital Liberty
George Landrith
President, Frontiers of Freedom
Hector V. Barreto
President, Hispanic Business Roundtable Institute
Mario H. Lopez
President, Hispanic Leadership Fund
Andrew Langer
President, Institute for Liberty
Tom Giovanetti
President, Institute for Policy Innovation
Allen Gutierrez
National Executive Director, The Latino Coalition
Seton Motley
President, Less Government
Colin Hanna
President, Let Freedom Ring
Charlie Sauer
President, Market Institute
Pete Sepp
President, National Taxpayers Union
Karen Kerrigan
President & CEO, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council
David Williams
President, Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Berin Szoka
President, TechFreedom