TPA Applauds Governor Youngkin’s Decision to Decline Virginia’s Enrollment into the Direct File Program

For Immediate Release

Contact: Kara Zupkus (224) 456-0257

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) celebrated Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin’s (R) decision not to enroll the state in the expanded Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) “Direct File” program. As noted in a letter sent by the governor to various members of the General Assembly, enrolling into the Direct File program would have been costly, redundant, and would likely contravene local and federal law.

In response, TPA President David Williams offered the following statement:

“The decision by Governor Youngkin is the right call for Virginians. As he notes in his letter, taxpayers in the commonwealth already have access to state and federal free filing programs. Virginians have no shortage of low-cost tax preparation services. Enrolling into the Direct File program would have given the IRS the ability to prepare tax returns on behalf of Virginians, a clear conflict of interest and a costly expansion of the IRS.

“This is yet another example of the short-sightedness of the IRS. Instead of committing resources to clear out the tax return backlogs impacting millions of Americans or fixing the outdated IT that exposes sensitive financial and personal information, the agency developed and deployed a program without congressional approval that does not provide a justifiable benefit to American taxpayers.

“The role of the IRS is to be the nation’s tax collector, not the nation’s tax preparer. Unlike professional tax preparers—even the ones in the free-file program—the IRS has an incentive to ensure that taxpayers pay the most taxes possible, to maximize revenue. This is not in the best interests of taxpayers.

“Fortunately, Gov. Youngkin was able to see the flawed logic of the proposal, and has taken a proactive step to protect taxpayers in Virginia.  Hopefully, other states follow the leadership of Gov. Youngkin.”

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Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is a rapid response non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to educating the public through the research, analysis, and dissemination of information on the government’s effects on the economy.