Tax preparation in the United States

Using lobbying, the revolving door and “dark pattern” customer tricks, Intuit fended off the government’s attempts to make tax filing free and easy, and created its multi-billion-dollar franchise.

The infamous TurboTax bill -- which no longer benefits the tax prep industry -- has another important provision.

A bill with widely backed reforms almost got snagged over a provision blocking the IRS from creating free electronic filing.

A bill supported by Democrats and Republicans would make permanent a program that bars the IRS from ever developing its own online tax filing service.