GOP Lawmaker Berated for Promising to End Free Tax Filing Because It 'Contradicts Taxpayers' Best Interest': 'Anything That Helps Americans is Out'

A Republican congressman is receiving backlash from social media users after advocating for the end of the IRS Direct File program, where Americans can file their taxes for free, after stating that the program went against taxpayers' best interests.

Nebraska Rep. Adrian Smith, who serves as chairman of the House's Ways and Means Subcommittee, shared this goal while speaking on the House floor at a congressional hearing on early Thursday morning.

"We are bringing an end to the unauthorized wasteful and redundant IRS Direct File program, which directly contradicts taxpayers' best interests. This moment is years in the making, and we now have the opportunity to deliver on the job Americans elected us to do in a fiscally responsible way," said Smith.

Social media users quickly took to online platforms to express their frustrations with Smith's sentiments, with many indicating that the direct file program was helpful for American taxpayers.

"@RepAdrianSmith, could you *be* any more full of s***??" wrote one user.

"Anything that helps 99% of Americans is out. They work for the 1%," wrote another.

"How is forcing someone to pay for a service when they could get it for free against our best interests?" questioned one user.

"You see what carries the day. It's disgusting. This program helped working people keep $50 or $100 bucks of their tax return, which might mean nothing to Republican Congress Members, but it means the world to a family trying to get by out here," one frustrated user commented.

Smith and fellow Republican Rep. Chuck Edwards (NC) introduced the IRS Overreach Prevention Act in July of last year, which seeks to prevent the IRS from creating a new version of its in-house Direct File pilot program.

"The last thing American taxpayers need is an IRS with expanded ability to predetermine what tax they owe and burden them with audits. This bill directs IRS to drop the program, which lacks both measurable success and statutory authority, and focus on better serving hard-working Americans," Smith said in a 2024 statement.

Edwards said that the bill "will prohibit the government from wasting funds on the Direct File program which has proven to be unnecessary and a waste of tax dollars."