CCIA Welcomes Free File Agreement for 2007

File Under: 2006, Government Competition

Dec 6, 2006

Washington, D.C. – The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) congratulates the Internal Revenue Service for taking important steps to extend and improve the Free File program in an agreement with the Free File Alliance for 2007, the program’s fifth year. CCIA welcomes the agreement to eliminate ancillary offerings such as Refund Anticipation Loans (RALs), which further improves an important public-private partnership that has serviced lower income, disadvantaged and underserved taxpayers for the past four years.

The Free File Alliance is a public-private partnership in which members make their tax preparation software products available for free to lower income, disadvantaged and underserved populations. Since being an active participant in the dialogue between the IRS and industry that resulted in the formation of the Free File Alliance, CCIA has been a strong supporter of the program as precisely the kind of partnership that leverages the reach of government with the expertise of industry to innovate and deliver superior services. This partnership is far more effective than to have a government program that directly competes with the private sector.

The voluntary removal of ancillary offerings is in response to concerns over the marketing of such fee-based products within a program that was established to offer electronic filing tools for free. "This agreement shows the responsive and responsible nature of Free File," CCIA President & CEO, Ed Black said. "Faced with criticism, the program has chosen to address the issue and reform itself. Although some have advocated the IRS duplicating tax preparation services provided by the private sector, it makes much more sense to maintain and improve Free File, a program that has been both popular and effective."