taxservice[at]aol.compliance (John H. Fisher) wrote:
....
- quote -

....
- quote -

I'd never use it because putting all of my data data on some
server across the Internet somewhere just seems like asking
for trouble. It's bad enough to have to key it all in to my
local machine (one time, over the web, it might be more than
once). But the point of this post is to explore "what's in
it for the consortium companies?"

My feeling (having just heard of this 1/2 hour ago) is that
they get to try and sell them "services" like those high
interest rate loans and stuff. The write-up below suggests
they had some problems last year (call 1-900-xxx-xxxx for
$5/minute to get help, or hey, I did your taxes for free,
but it's $50 to get a hard copy). It sounds like best
customer (from the consortium's perspective) would be
someone lacking in sophistication and one who would fall for
a lot of non-essential 'extras'? The IRS's site lacks any
information on why these consortium companies got into the
business. To me, that sends up red flags.

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IR-2004-13, Jan. 22, 2004

FREE FILE OPENS SECOND YEAR; IMPROVEMENTS DETAILED

WASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service, Treasury Department and the
Office of Management and Budget unveiled a series of improvements today
designed to make the Free File program easier to use for more taxpayers.
Now starting its second year, the Free File program lets millions of
taxpayers prepare and file their federal taxes on-line for free.

Free File, which is available at IRS.gov, gives taxpayers free access to
the benefits of online tax preparation and e-filing. Filing taxes
electronically is easy, fast and secure. And, people receive their refunds
in half the time of a paper return. Free File applies only to the federal
tax return.

Free File was created last year in partnership with an alliance of tax
software companies to offer free online preparation and e-filing services
to at least 60 percent of the nation!&s 130 million taxpayers. Free File,
which was used by 2.8 million taxpayers last year, was principally
designed to advance and increase e-filing receipts and to assist
taxpayers, particularly in underserved and disadvantaged communities.

Among the improvements is an agreement that each company in the Free File
Alliance will fully and clearly disclose its customer service options and
all the forms and schedules they support. Taxpayers are under no
obligation to purchase any fee-based services !V such as an Individual
Retirement Account or Refund Anticipation Loan - in order to use the Free
File services.

"Make no mistake -- no one likes paying taxes -- it's too confusing and
too time consuming. But Free File makes this onerous task a good bit
easier and less burdensome. Free File is an easy, fast and secure way for
citizens to file taxes, and also allows Americans to get refunds in half
the time. The efficiency of Free File saves both taxpayers and the IRS
money," stated Treasury Secretary John W. Snow.

"Our service priorities at the IRS are to improve service options for the
tax-paying public, facilitate participation in our system by all sectors
of the tax-paying public and simplify the tax process," said IRS
Commissioner Mark W. Everson. "The Free File program supports these
objectives. A key lever in improving customer service is increasing the
scope and accessibility of services delivered electronically. Free File is
designed to help taxpayers file electronically and to assist taxpayers in
underserved and disadvantaged communities."

Taxpayers are encouraged to review all 16 company offerings by visiting
"Free File" at IRS.gov. While each company sets its own qualifying
criteria for their free service, the majority of the offerings are
designed to serve lower-income individuals (such as Form 1040 EZ Filers)
or families who claim the Earned Income Tax Credit. Other offers are based
on the individual's age, military service or state residency.

Many of the improvements made to Free File for 2004 are a direct result of
feedback received from taxpayers during last year's program. Other
program enhancements were made by the companies themselves. Some
improvements include:

- Disclose Customer Service Options. Each provider will readily display
their customer service options and associated fees, if any. This
disclosure will be available on each of the company's Free File websites.

- Disclose Tax Forms and Schedules. Each company will disclose the tax
forms and schedules associated with their free offering so taxpayers will
know immediately if an offering is right for them.

- Promotional Codes. Companies will not utilize any promotion codes
or rebates as the methodology for providing free services. Each tax
software program is designed to automatically notify the taxpayer if he or
she is (or is not) eligible for a particular offering based on the
information the taxpayer inputs (such as adjusted gross income).

- Clearer Up-front Instructions. Many of the companies will have clearer
instructions available to clearly define up front what services and
features are offered.

- Improvements Made to Reduce Concerns About Advertising. We have worked
with the providers to address the perception that taxpayers received
unsolicited advertising. Taxpayers are under no obligation to purchase any
product or service to use Free File, and taxpayer information and data
remains protected by one of the government!&s toughest standards.

- Guaranteed Calculations. All companies will guarantee the accuracy of
the calculations made by their software. Any IRS penalties and interests
incurred as a result of a miscalculation will be paid by the company.

- Free Printing of Completed Tax Return. Taxpayers who qualify and use
one of the free services will be allowed to print their completed tax
return for free on their personal computer.

The combined changes are designed to increase the program!&s level of
performance and improve the taxpayer's overall tax preparation and
e-filing experience. Each company is responsible for its own tax software
program. Taxpayers who have issues with the software should contact the
company to resolve the problem. If taxpayers encounter systemic problems
that are not resolved, they can e-mail the IRS at:
helpdesk[at]speedymail.com.

The IRS expects Free File will increase the public's interest in
electronic filing. Surveys indicate a high public satisfaction rate with
IRS e-file. IRS e-file users have a higher satisfaction rate than those
who still use paper returns, according to the American Customer
Satisfaction Index, which measures private-sector and public-sector
services. Last year, approximately 53 million taxpayers used IRS e-file.




"Jack" - John H. Fisher - TaxService[at]aol.com
Philadelphia, Pa - Atlantic City, NJ - West Wildwood, NJ
My Newsgroups & Boards at: http://members.aol.com/TaxService/index.html

Where Ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise!=

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