Summary
Elon Musk claimed on X that he eliminated the IRS team responsible for the “Direct File” program, which allows Americans to file taxes online for free.
His statement was in response to a right-wing MAGA influencer who called the “direct file” tax program a “far-left government-wide computer office” built by Elizabeth Warren.
Thus far, the website remains active.
In theory, that could be the goal. Cripple the government by choking revenue.
In practice, this is not what most people use to file taxes, particularly those who pay substantial amounts. More importantly, those taxes are mostly paid through paycheck withholdings. Most people get tax refunds by filing, or if they came up short through the year they only pay a small amount through this system.
So it happens to create a backdoor regressive tax via over payments and refundable credits that go unclaimed?
Sounds about right when the cruelty is the point.