WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn) introduced the Fostering Autonomy in Independent Returns by Prohibiting Redundant and Extralegal Programs (FAIR PREP) Act.
This legislation would end the Biden-Harris Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) blatant overreach by terminating its unauthorized “Direct File” tax filing program. By barring the agency from unlawfully preparing taxpayer returns without congressional approval, the FAIR PREP Act would establish crucial safeguards to protect American taxpayers and prevent future attempts by the IRS to sidestep Congress.
“The IRS’ Direct File program is costly, unnecessary, and unconstitutional,” said Risch. “The FAIR PREP Act prevents the IRS from railroading Congressional authority, and allows Idahoans to file their taxes as they see fit."
“By taking on the role of both tax preparer and tax auditor, the IRS created an undeniable conflict of interest when it circumvented Congress to establish the Direct File program,” said Blackburn. “This legislation would right this wrong by stopping the IRS from preparing tax returns without explicit legislative approval and ending this wasteful and misguided program.”
This legislation is also co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), and Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.).
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BACKGROUND: |
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In 2024, the Biden-Harris IRS launched the “Direct File” tax-preparation program without congressional authorization. Roughly 140,000 taxpayers utilized the new filing option – less than 1% of the estimated 19 million eligible taxpayers.
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Last year, Attorneys General from 13 states sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Treasury suggesting that the IRS’s unilateral decision to create the program was “unnecessary and unconstitutional.” Despite low utilization rates and objections from congressional Republicans, the IRS announced that it would make the program permanent.
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The IRS estimates the program could cost up to $249 million annually, diverting resources from addressing longstanding agency shortfalls. Last month, a U.S. Government Accountability Office report revealed the agency has already abandoned plans to hire additional staff and is reallocating hundreds of employees from its taxpayer-services account.
