Treasury Accuses GOP Of Siding With Tax Evaders In Direct Tax Filing Fight

House Republicans say the program that allows taxpayers to file directly with IRS should not be funded next year.

The Treasury Department fired back Tuesday at House Republicans who want to defund the new IRS Direct Filing program, which will allow taxpayers to send their tax returns directly to the agency without using commercial software from companies like Intuit or H&R Block.

“House Republicans’ proposal would increase the deficit by allowing wealthy and corporate tax evaders to avoid paying taxes owed, while increasing costs for many American families by blocking a free IRS tax filing option funded by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act,” Treasury spokesman Haris Talwar said in a statement to HuffPost.

“This proposal sides with high-end tax evaders at the expense of the American people,” Talwar said.

House Republican appropriators released the draft text of their spending bill that includes the IRS on Tuesday. In it, they prohibited the use of any appropriated funding “to create a government-run tax preparation software that Congress has not authorized.”

The draft and Treasury’s response are the first salvos in a fight likely to drag on for months as lawmakers work on bills to fund the government starting on Oct. 1, the beginning of the new budget year.