One of Elon Musk's biggest cuts was to the team that helps run the easy filing system for the Internal Revenue Service. Although the "Direct File" program isn't mandatory, conservatives have criticized it as a program for the left.
The Treasury Department said on its website, "Direct File is a historic new IRS service that allows eligible taxpayers to prepare and file their tax return online, for free, including access to help from dedicated IRS Direct File customer support representatives."
Critics unloaded on Musk's acknowledgment that he "deleted" the team that oversees the program.
Yahoo News' finance reporter Jordan Weissmann noted, "After last year's Direct File pilot program, the IRS ran a 15,000-person customer satisfaction survey. 90% of users said their experience was either above average or excellent, and 3/4 said it was easy compared to how they'd filed taxes the year before."
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One activist known for trolling the right said that the plan was clearly "Sponsored by Turbo Tax."
Legal analyst Allison Gill's "Mueller, She Wrote" said she spoke with someone at the IRS about the matter.
They "just told me they were informed that if they accepted the Fork in the Road deferred resignation, they'd still have to work through May 15th because it's filing season. So Musk lied. And what about filing season 2026? Are they just gonna cross that bridge when they come to it?"
"Now imagine if Elon Musk submits a tax return filled with all sorts of dubious claims. Who in the IRS would audit him? Who would dare?" asked private sector economist Patrick Chovanec.
Journalist and historian Garrett M. Graff said, "Not for nothing, but Direct File by the IRS was one of the best things the USG has done in years — it allowed millions of Americans to stop paying predatory fees to TurboTax. The literal only people who oppose it are TurboTax lobbyists."
