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@ISIDEWITHQuestionsEconomyStarted 7yrs agoActive 5 days ago

Should the IRS create a free electronic tax filing system?

In April 2019, Congress passed the Taxpayer First Act which made it illegal for the IRS to create its own online system of tax filing. The IRS system would allow taxpayers to file their taxes on the IRS website without having to pay to use private tax filing services or software. Tax software companies including the maker of TurboTax and H&R Block lobbied congress to pass the bill. Countries including Spain, Denmark and Sweden use a “return-fee filing system that gives taxpayers pre-filled forms using information from employers and banks. Proponents argue that the free filing system would save a collective $2 billion and 225 million hours in prep costs and time. Opponents, including Intuit the maker of TurboTax, argue that such a system would cause taxpayers to make mistakes in their fillings and end up paying more in taxes.

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Answer Overview

Response rates from 50.8k America voters.

86%
Yes
14%
No
86%
Yes
10%
No
4%
No, but I would prefer to eliminate income taxes and abolish the IRS

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Other Popular Answers

Unique answers from America voters whose views went beyond the provided options.

 @99QKJX3from New York  answered…3yrs3Y

Yes, as long as people have the option to use the traditional filing system

 @9WGS9N6 from Missouri  answered…2yrs2Y

Yes, and tax codes should be simplified so regular citizens don't need advanced training to be able to accurately pay their taxes

 @9D74Y6P from Arizona  answered…3yrs3Y

No, but they should at the very least stop other filing systems from pushing their power and monopoly over the genre.

 @8TYH38S from Texas  answered…3yrs3Y

Yes, and use a return-free filing system like Spain

 @BDZB8NP from Texas  answered…5 days5D

Yes, but I would prefer to update the tax system to place responsibility on the IRS to evaluate tax owed and refunds rather than requiring citizens to file

 @BDKRQQG from Arizona  answered…1mo1MO

Yes, lobbying should be illegal

 @BDDS6L3 from California  answered…1mo1MO

Yes, a tax filling system may help with organization

 @B9Q5NH9  from Georgia  answered…1mo1MO

Yes, but I would rather the IRS not exist in the first place

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…2yrs2Y

Israeli Bombings Kill 2,300 In Lebanon in 3 weeks

Lebanese authorities say Israeli bombing has killed more than 2,300 people and injured almost 11,000, mostly in the past three weeks, with Israeli attacks reaching areas far beyond Hizbollah’s traditional bastions of support in the south.The Israeli military has ordered people living in more than a quarter of Lebanon to flee, according to a UN calculation, as its fight with the Iran-backed Shia militant group Hizbollah threatens to engulf the Mediterranean country.Lebanese authorities say Israeli bombing has killed more than 2,300 people and injured almost 11,000, mostly in the past three weeks, with Israeli attacks reaching areas far beyond Hizbollah’s traditional bastions of support in the south.More than 1mn people have fled their homes in Lebanon in under a month, according to its government, a dramatic forced movement of the population in a country of only about 5mn inhabitants with a land mass smaller than the US state of Connecticut. Israeli forces began a ground offensive in south Lebanon two weeks ago, in their fourth invasion of the country in under five decades. They had already destroyed large parts of the densely populated southern Beirut suburb where Hizbollah had its headquarters, and killed many top militant commanders in air strikes, including former leader Hassan Nasrallah.Rema Jamous Imseis, Middle East director of UNHCR, told journalists in Geneva that “over 25 per cent of [Lebanon is] under a direct Israeli military evacuation order”. “People are heeding these calls to evacuate and they’re fleeing with almost nothing,” she added, saying that 80 per cent of the shelters opened by the Lebanese government — mostly in schools — were now full.

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…2yrs2Y

A Moment of Darkness': Washington Post's No-Endorsement Decision Ignites Media Firestorm

Even though the presidential race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris is neck and neck, The Washington Post has decided not to make a presidential endorsement for the first time in 36 years, the publisher and CEO announced Friday."We are returning to our roots of not endorsing presidential candidates," Will Lewis wrote in an opinion piece published on the paper's website. He referenced the paper's policy in the decades prior to 1976, when, following the Watergate scandal that the Post broke, it endorsed Democratic nominee Jimmy Carter. The last time the Post did not endorse a presidential candidate in the general election was 1988, according to a search of its archives.Colleagues learned the news from the editorial page editor, David Shipley, at a tense meeting shortly before Lewis' announcement. The meeting was characterized by someone with direct knowledge of discussions on condition of anonymity to speak about internal matters.Shipley said that he told other editorial board leaders Thursday by management that there would be no endorsement, though he has known for weeks. He added that he "owns" this decision. The reason he cited was to create "independent space" where the newspaper does not tell people for whom to vote.Colleagues were said to be "shocked" and uniformly negative. Post corporate spokespeople have not responded to multiple messages left by NPR on the subject.Former Washington Post Executive Editor Martin Baron, who led the newsroom to acclaim during Trump's presidency, denounced the decision starkly."This is cowardice, a moment of darkness that will leave democracy as a casualty," Baron said in a statement to NPR. "Donald Trump will celebrate this as an invitation to further intimidate The Post’s owner, Jeff Bezos (and other media owners). History will mark a disturbing chapter of spinelessness at an institution famed for courage."A similar decision by Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong led this week to the resignations of the paper's editorials editor and two editorial board members. Soon-Shiong said that he had asked the editorial board to draft a "factual analysis" of Trump and Harris' policies and plans. In her resignation letter, editorials editor Mariel Garza said the decision made the paper look “craven and hypocritical,” given its past reporting and editorials on Trump.

▲  1013 replies

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Based on 50.8k responses to this question.

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iSideWith. (2026). “Should the IRS create a free electronic tax filing system?” — Public Opinion Poll Results. Retrieved June 17, 2026, from https://www.isidewith.com/poll/3750300920

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