Proposals to let U.S. taxpayers get a statement from the government that's already filled in with their financial information have been under attack by Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, according to ProPublica. The non-profit newsroom says several people took a stand against the proposal in a "grass-roots" campaign Intuit orchestrated.
The proposed "return-free" system would use information the federal government receives from banks and employers to simplify the filing process. It's used in parts of Europe, and in a California pilot program. Its critics warn that such a system might ignore tax credits and incorporate errors. And tax preparation companies such as Intuit say it would hurt their business.
The ProPublica article is by Liz Day, who also wrote about the campaign against return-free filing last year. She says she looked into the campaign after noticing "remarkably similar language" being used to weigh in on a "remarkably obscure topic."
In a Morning Edition interview last year, Day gave some context about the proposed system:
"President Ronald Reagan supported it and talked favorably about it in 1985. And President Obama has spoken also favorably about it on the campaign trail in 2007. The idea is that you would get a pre-filled return from the government, using the information they already have, to send a pre-filled return to you that you could either accept or throw away. It's completely voluntary."