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There ain't no such thing as free tax software

June 23, 2011

There is a push for the IRS to provide "free" tax software. Consider tax attorney Peter Pappas unimpressed:

This is a bad idea for several reasons:
-The IRS has a poor track record of developing software;

-The development of the software will cost taxpayers $20 to 30 million which means the service isn’t really free; and

-The IRS has a conflict of interest: It’s primary mission is to raise revenue for the federal government. But if it gets into the tax preparation business it should also be committed to legally minimizing the taxpayers’ tax liabilities. The objectives are incompatible.

You don't trust the IRS to help you achieve the lowest legal tax liability?

The current edition of TurboTax is available for $17.89 at Amazon.com. The IRS is unlikely to do as well as cheaply. And if it's good enough for Tim Geithner, it should be good enough for us.

Tags: Geithner.Peter Pappas.Turbotax.