Have you filed your tax returns yet?
If you haven’t , Public Citizen’s Susan Harley recommends using the IRS’s free new “Direct File” tool. “Direct File is a much better option than paying for expensive corporate-owned software or hiring a private tax-prep company,” Susan writes. And it might even help you claim credits you’re eligible for but didn’t realize.
But “big tax prep corporations have been handing out cash to opponents of Direct File in Congress in the hopes of gutting the program,” she warns. “For Direct File to remain an option in future years, it’s critical that taxpayers take advantage of the tool right now. Widespread participation will help solidify the future of this important service.” (In other tax prep news, see Chuck Collins’s recent op-ed about why billionaires want to defund the IRS.)
Meanwhile, Lindsay Koshgarian shares new research on where those taxes go, using a familiar pain point for many shoppers: eggs. If you stressed about buying a dozen or two a week last year, bad news: As Lindsay points out, last year the average taxpayer bought the equivalent of over 600 dozen eggs for the Pentagon, which mostly went to for-profit contractors (like Elon Musk’s Space X).
By comparison, the same taxpayer spent just a penny on a program to end homelessness. And that should make you clucking mad. (Sorry, I don’t even really like puns.)
Also this week, Aspen Coriz-Romero makes a moving case defending federal support for libraries, which is under assault from DOGE. Tyler Mitchell and Dedrick Asante-Muhammad explain how DOGE’s decimation of the federal workforce will be especially painful for Black families. And Peter Montgomery highlights the patriotism of the recent “Hands Off” rallies, which protested those cuts and many more besides.
New This Week…
The “Hands Off” Rallies Were Patriotism in Action | Peter Montgomery
The gatherings were a call to our fellow Americans to defend what’s best about our country.
If You Think Eggs Are Expensive, Wait Till You See Trump’s Pentagon Budget | Lindsay Koshgarian
Breaking down your tax bill in terms of egg prices.
Still Need to File Taxes? Try IRS Direct File! | Susan Harley
In a time of rising costs, Americans in 25 states can now file their taxes for free. To protect and expand this program, more of us need to use it.
Libraries Are Priceless — And They Need Our Support | Aspen Coriz-Romero
Slashing federal library funding will have devastating repercussions, especially in rural areas and small towns.
Trump’s War on Federal Workers Is a Threat to Black Families | Tyler Mitchell and Dedrick Asante-Muhammad
Federal employment has been key to creating a Black middle class. That progress is now under threat — along with services all Americans rely on.
In Case You Missed It…
Tariffs Can Be Useful — But Not How Trump Is Using Them | Sonali Kolhatkar
When done right, protectionism can benefit workers and the environment. That’s not what’s happening here.
Congress Is Taking from the Poor to Give to the Rich | Jocelyn Smith
I know how it feels to be hungry and homeless. And if the GOP budget passes as written, so will millions more.
Dismantling the IRS Only Helps Billionaire Tax Dodgers | Chuck Collins
Starting this tax season, Trump and Musk’s IRS cuts will cost middle class taxpayers a lot more than they save.
Public Transit Moves Working Families. We Need to Support It. | Vanessa Alvarez
If leaders in Washington cut transit funding, working families like mine will pay the price.
