Colorado governor asks Trump administration to reconsider killing free online tax-filing program

Coloradans won t be able to access a free federal online tax return-filing tool this upcoming tax season after the Trump administration halted its rollout a move Gov Jared Polis lamented Wednesday as a costly disappointment Polis inquired the federal executive to reconsider the decision in a letter sent Wednesday to U S Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent The project known as IRS Direct File allowed users to file their taxes with pre-filled tax forms such as W- s free of cost It s had a limited rollout since with Colorado slated to join the effort this coming year In his letter Polis highlighted a record that identified of users reported the experience with the federal tool was above average or excellent In Colorado it was expected to save taxpayers million per year while helping them to secure million in federal tax credits according to a account by the Economic Shield Project while saving individuals hours of work Direct File offered a free efficient alternative that saved taxpayers both time and money making ruling body more efficient and reducing taxpayer errors Polis wrote in his letter to Bessent There is no substitute for Direct File and we urge Treasury to look again at the results and reconsider their decision given how thriving direct file was Related Articles Headhunter pays M for industrial firm s former downtown office RTD approves record high billion budget but faces deficit provision cuts practicable RTD bus and train riders can now pay by tapping their credit cards Owner of Aurora business gets year of federal prison time for tax fraud Foreclosure proceedings underway for planned Camp Pickle pickleball site in Centennial The Direct File initiative was created as part of the Inflation Reduction Act signed into law by former President Joe Biden in The undertaking promptly faced intense blowback from Republican lawmakers and commercial tax preparation companies who complained that it wasted taxpayer money by replicating existing private-sector services Several companies offer free filing services though they make billions from complicated tax filing services In the campaign s first year about taxpayers across eight states filed their taxes through the plan out of about who logged into the system This year the number of filers increased to about taxpayers in states out of who logged into the services though Polis notes that happened despite uncertainty over the activity and no marketing budget for it The federal decision doesn t affect Colorado s existing plan to file individual state income taxes for free The Associated Press contributed to this overview Stay up-to-date with Colorado Politics by signing up for our weekly newsletter The Spot