# Bookmarked: This is America - Author: @gurupanguji - Date: 2019-04-10 - URL: https://gurupanguji.com/blog/2019/04/10/this-is-america/ - Categories: link --- > And why is Congress taking the step? Because companies like [Intuit,](https://crunchbase.com/organization/intuit) the company behind [TurboTax,](https://crunchbase.com/organization/turbotax) and H&R Block have been lobbying lawmakers for years to take the step. > > In other countries, the agencies in charge of taxes have their own programs which make filing taxes more efficient — and free — for citizens. But that would eat into the profits for the tax prep industry, which was estimated to pull in $11 billion in 2018. *Source:* [https://techcrunch.com/2019/04/09/the-government-is-about-to-permanently-bar-the-irs-from-creating-a-free-electronic-filing-system/](https://techcrunch.com/2019/04/09/the-government-is-about-to-permanently-bar-the-irs-from-creating-a-free-electronic-filing-system/)

$11B can definitely buy you some influence in Washington. That said, what's particularly interesting is that it's a bipartisan initiative. I'd imagine that at least the Democrats would have wanted people to file their taxes easier as they'd need that to fund some of their future projects.