DOGE Deletes Agency Behind Login.gov, IRS Direct File, Other Tech Projects

[special]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companie...r-AA1A5USE


I am not sure what this means yet... are they going to kill login.gov and direct file?

[Michael]

I'd bet they will let direct file die on the vine. That was pushed hard by Elizabeth Warren. It would be a hell of a problem if they killed login.gov, however.

Here's an interesting idea from Mark Cuban:

In a social media post Saturday, billionaire Mark Cuban, who campaigned for former Vice President Kamala Harris last year and has been critical of Mr. Trump, wrote that if "you worked for 18F and got fired, Group together to start a consulting company."

"It's just a matter of time before DOGE needs you to fix the mess they inevitably create," Cuban added. "They will have to hire your company as a contractor to fix it. But on your terms. I'm happy to invest and/or help."

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/general-ser...rump-doge/

Many years ago my wife did exactly this when she left one school system for another when she asked the superintendant if she could go to a (standard) 2 week shorter summer contract and he said yes but for a 30% cut in pay. She left for an equivalent position (with those 2 weeks off) and a month later the first school system asked if she could come back and get school started. My wife talked to me about it and I asked her if she knew what the superintendant made. She did. I suggested she agree to help them out but at the superintendant's hourly rate. We did well that month!

[pdq]

Pet peeve: when news coverage describes what’s happening as an “overhaul”, or “reimagining” of the goverment.

It’s an indiscriminate gutting, driven by nutty ideology and (cynically) as a fig leaf of “savings” to justify trillions in tax cuts for billionaires.

We’ll be paying for this for a looong time.

[Acer]

"When a small group of people just do things without any input, they usually end up making some colossal mistakes."
--Road Guy Rob

[timg]

Musk is just creating more opportunities for his companies.

[Lemon Drop]

Republicans have been trying to kill Direct File since it started last year.

"The popular, free Direct File program introduced by the Internal Revenue Service in 2024 is being expanded this tax season despite the objections of dozens of congressional Republicans—but an analysis released Thursday reveals why GOP lawmakers are so intent on ensuring the Trump administration ultimately eliminates the program and forces taxpayers to rely on services from private tax filing corporations.

The 29 Republicans who sent a letter to President Donald Trump in December asking him to end Direct File with a "day-one executive order" have received more than $1.8 million in campaign contributions over the course of their careers from "Big Tax Prep and their proxies," said the consumer advocacy watchdog Public Citizen.

The companies that have donated to the lawmakers include Intuit and H&R Block, as well as the American Coalition for Taxpayer Rights—a group of lobbying firms that work on behalf of the tax filing industry."

https://www.commondreams.org/news/direct...epublicans

[Acer]

Drain the swamp, my shiny metal butt.

[mattkime]

Lemon Drop wrote:
The companies that have donated to the lawmakers include Intuit and H&R Block, as well as the American Coalition for Taxpayer Rights—a group of lobbying firms that work on behalf of the tax filing industry."

Using TurboTax helps fund these efforts. Find an alternative.

[special]

mattkime wrote:
[quote=Lemon Drop]
The companies that have donated to the lawmakers include Intuit and H&R Block, as well as the American Coalition for Taxpayer Rights—a group of lobbying firms that work on behalf of the tax filing industry."

Using TurboTax helps fund these efforts. Find an alternative.
My CPA does my taxes, no idea what she uses, I assume a professional version of Turbotax or similar.

[gabester]

If you're looking for a free tax filing aid and are comfortable with most of the other stuff around your taxes - e.g. you don't have unusual investment patterns or did something people only rarely do like buy/sell a home or an EV or a yacht or whatever... there's always The free 1040 excel spreadsheet