HOW ABOUT OTHER AVENUES: Wyden and his team are still holding out hope that the tax plan could come to the Senate floor as a standalone bill, even as some observers have finished writing eulogies for the measure. At the same time, supporters of the Wyden-Smith plan are also wondering why Schumer hasn’t been more aggressive in pushing the tax bill. Schumer basically said last month that he’d be willing to bring the tax bill to the floor when he was confident it could pass. But even some Republican senators who support the Wyden-Smith plan want the majority leader to further push the envelope, like Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma (as told to The Washington Post last week). Bringing the bill to the floor could both highlight GOP divisions over the tax bill and potentially force Republicans to fully own the defeat of the measure. But some GOP senators have openly talked about preferring to tackle these issues next year, when they might have full control in Washington, and it’s not fully clear whether the Wyden-Smith plan has unanimous support among Senate Democrats. GOT A MEMO FOR YOU: The IRS keeps trickling out the good news on its Direct File pilot program. As promised, the agency released a fuller report on the government-run filing portal on Friday, after IRS chief Danny Werfel put out some initial thoughts a week before. Werfel called Direct File “a key component of our modernization efforts” in this latest report, as all signs point to the IRS bringing the program — which was only available in a dozen states for taxpayers with relatively simple returns — back for 2025. Outside supporters are also preparing for that very step. “This report provides clear evidence that the agency needs to build on the success of the Direct File pilot by expanding access to Direct File in more states and making sure that more people in different tax situations, such as contract workers, can use Direct File,” said Adam Ruben of the Economic Security Project. Among the findings from this newest report: — About 15,000 Direct File users completed a survey after using the pilot, and about nine in 10 of those said they had a positive experience with the program. A similar number said the program also made them more confident in the IRS. — The report also fleshed out the $24.6 million that the IRS says it spent on the pilot program. Almost half of that money went to last year’s report laying out the feasibility of a government-run portal, and the IRS says it would be able to make the program more cost-effective as it expanded. Still, there are plenty of questions about how much Direct File is costing taxpayers. GAO called out the IRS last month for having insufficient documentation to back up its cost estimates for Direct File, while also noting that the agency did not include start-up costs in those calculations. Outside skeptics of Direct File have also pointed to the IRS’s acknowledgment of other costs that weren’t included, like the use of employees from the U.S. Digital Service. (The new report says it would cost a bit more than $7 million a year to use help from the digital services.) — Finally, the report said that Direct File issued more than $90 million in refunds to taxpayers, while bringing in some $35 million. Keep an eye on those figures: Private-sector preparers have suggested that the amount of refunds handed out by Direct File seems low, after charging that an IRS-run portal wouldn’t have the incentive to maximize a taxpayer’s refund.
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