H&R Block’s Push to Make Tax Forms Harder for Low-Income People
1st September 2015
In late July, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a 2016 federal agency funding bill that came with instructions to the Internal Revenue Service to vastly expand the paperwork for the Earned Income Tax Credit.
This buried provision adds a layer of red tape for which the tax-preparation company H&R Block has lobbied heavily for more than a year, in letters and hearings. H&R Block and other tax-prep companies stand to benefit handsomely, while taxpayers who are unable to navigate the complicated new forms will face two costly alternatives: Pay a tax preparer to parse the forms, or give up the EITC, a crucial tax break for low-income families.
September 1st, 2015 at 13:48
You should be happy. Isn’t the EIC merely a socialist redistribution scheme?
September 3rd, 2015 at 04:12
It is, especially in the fraudulent way it’s administered. But there are worse.