{
	"type": "rich",
	"version": "1.0",
	"provider_name": "Action Network",
	"provider_url": "https://actionnetwork.org",
	
	"html": "<link href='https://actionnetwork.org/css/style-embed-v3.css' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' /><script src='https://actionnetwork.org/widgets/v6/letter/direct-file-was-a-success-now-congress-must-expand-it?format=js&source=widget'></script><div id='can-letter-area-direct-file-was-a-success-now-congress-must-expand-it' style='width: 100%'><!-- this div is the target for our HTML insertion --></div>",
	"author_name": "Patriotic Millionaires",
	"author_url": "https://actionnetwork.org/groups/patriotic-millionaires",
	"title": "Direct File was a success! Now Congress must expand it.",
	"thumbnail_url": "https://can2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/groups/default_facebook_images/000/254/238/original/PatMillz.jpg?1657828704",
	"description": "Earlier this month, Senator Elizabeth Warren and over 130 lawmakers -- including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer -- applauded the success of the IRS Direct File program in a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel: “We write to commend you on the historic and resoundingly successful launch of Direct File, the first free, public, electronic federal tax filing tool in U.S. history. Taxpayers want and deserve a free and easy filing option, and thanks to this year’s pilot, taxpayers used Direct File to claim over $90 million in tax refunds and save $5.6 million in estimated filing fees. We applaud your leadership and Direct File’s incredible success this year, and we call on you to make Direct File a permanent program, expanding it and improving it further next year and in the years to come.” According to the letter, in 2024 over 140,000 taxpayers across 12 pilot states used Direct File, receiving more than $90 million in refunds and saving an estimated $5.6 million in tax preparation fees. With the success of the pilot program, it’s now time to expand Direct File to every state. For too long, private tax preparation companies deliberately misled taxpayers to extract more fees or intentionally made it more difficult to find the free version of their offerings. For example, TurboTax and H&amp;amp;R Block were hiding the Free File landing page from online search engines and creating their own “free” edition of their software that duped consumers, often compelling them to pay as much as $200. For the last 20 years, through both overt and covert lobbying efforts, TurboTax and H&amp;amp;R Block intentionally blocked the IRS from creating a free online tax filing program. They lost. We won. Now we must build on our victory and expand Direct File to every state in America. Click “Start Writing” to send a direct message to Congress, urging them to increase IRS funding to expand Direct File.",
	"url": "https://actionnetwork.org/letters/direct-file-was-a-success-now-congress-must-expand-it"
}