Okay, well, maybe not the entire IRS. But Biden made a program to help average Americans (of course he did) with their tax filings. And it has been super successful and really loved!
As the Treasury Department and IRS reported a few weeks ago:
IRS Direct File Pilot Exceeds Usage Goal, Receiving Positive User Ratings and Saving Taxpayers Money
Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced key data on the performance of the IRS’s Direct File Pilot showing that the program surpassed the Treasury’s goal of 100,000 users, received positive user ratings, and saved taxpayers money. The Direct File pilot program was made possible by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and allowed taxpayers in 12 states with simple taxes to file for free, directly with the IRS.
The IRS designed the pilot to follow best practices for launching a new technology platform — start small, make sure it works, then build from there. After successful testing, Direct File opened to broader access midway through the filing season. Even so, 140,803 taxpayers successfully filed returns using Direct File, with users reporting a high degree of user satisfaction. Direct File users claimed more than $90 million in refunds and saved an estimated $5.6 million in tax preparation fees on their federal returns alone.
The 12 states that participated in this year’s pilot had either no state income tax or a free state filing tool similar to Direct File. Usage was robust in both categories of states.
“The IRS’s Direct File pilot enabled more than 140,000 taxpayers to file their taxes for free, saving participants time and money,” said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo. “Thanks to President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, the IRS created a program that helped taxpayers access $90 million in refunds, achieved top-notch customer service ratings and provided the data and lessons necessary to determine next steps.”
In a GSA Touchpoints survey of more than 11,000 Direct File users, 90% of respondents ranked their experience with Direct File as “Excellent” or “Above Average.” Direct File received a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of +74, an exceptionally high rating.
Bharat Ramamurti, who was deputy director of the National Economic Council from 2021 to 2023, expressed deep satisfaction with the success of this pilot. And he’s optimistic about the good the full program will do in the future.
Of all the things I was lucky enough to work on, this might be my favorite. You shouldn’t have to pay money to pay your taxes. As this program continues to grow, most people will get pre-populated forms and be able to file their taxes with a few clicks in a few minutes.
Is there still more work to be done? 100%! Lots more work. But Biden has done so much more than many people guessed could be done. He deserves a lot of credit. AND he deserves to be re-elected.
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These posts are written by Goodnewsroundup (Goodie),
edited by Matilda Briggs, supported by 2thanks and WolverineForTJatAW,
and reinforced by several other notable Kossacks!
As with all good things, it takes a village.
