[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3457 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3457
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to enter into an agreement
with the Free File Alliance to provide for electronic filing of
individual Federal income tax returns free of charge.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 4, 2007
Ms. Zoe Lofgren of California (for herself and Mr. Cantor) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and
Means
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to enter into an agreement
with the Free File Alliance to provide for electronic filing of
individual Federal income tax returns free of charge.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. PROGRAM TO E-FILE FEDERAL INCOME TAX RETURNS.
(a) Agreement.--
(1) In general.--The Sectary of the Treasury shall enter
into an agreement with the Free File Alliance to provide a
forms-based software service for all individual taxpayers with
the ability to electronically prepare and file their Federal
returns of income tax through the Internal Revenue Service
website, free of charge, by using the standard 1040 and 1040EZ
forms and the most commonly used schedules for taxable years
beginning after 2007, and such software service to be made
available (at no cost to either the United States or the
participating taxpayers) by the Free File Alliance shall be in
addition to the products and services available to taxpayers
from Free File member companies under the terms and conditions
of the Government's agreement with the Free File Alliance
Agreement entered into on behalf of the United States by the
Commissioner of Internal Revenue on October 30, 2002, and as
subsequently amended.
(2) Term of agreement.--The agreement shall have a term of
60 months, unless terminated earlier in accordance with the
agreement, and may be renewed.
(b) Development and Operation of Program.--In providing for the
development and operation of this program, the Secretary of the
Treasury--
(1) shall enter into an agreement with the Free File
Alliance in accordance with subsection (a);
(2) shall not otherwise develop or deploy electronic tax
preparation or filing products for the same or similar
purposes;
(3) shall ensure that the requirements set forth in this
subsection are implemented in a manner consistent with the
terms, conditions, requirements, and commitments of the
Agreement entered into on behalf of the United States by the
Commissioner of Internal Revenue on October 30, 2002, as
subsequently amended, including the provision that
participating companies in the Free File program may not
advertise, market, or offer to sell any products or services to
taxpayers while using the tax preparation programs;
(4) may not compensate or allow a participating company to
charge for providing the free products and services provided
pursuant to this subsection; and
(5) shall conduct a public information and consumer
education campaign to encourage taxpayer awareness of this
program, with particular emphasis on EITC taxpayer communities.
(c) Consultation.--In providing for the deployment of this program,
the Secretary shall also consult with other entities with expertise in
this issue area, including the National Taxpayer Advocate, the
Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee (ETAAC), professional
and industrial organizations, nonprofit organizations, and Federal,
State, and local agencies as determined appropriate by the Secretary.
(d) Reports to Congress Regarding e-File Program.--
(1) Report on implementation.--The Secretary of the
Treasury shall report to the Committee on Finance of the Senate
and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of
Representatives not later than 6 months after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and every 6 months thereafter, regarding
the status of the implementation of this e-file program.
(2) Report on usage.--Not later than June 30 of each year
after the implementation of e-file program described in this
Act, the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the
National Taxpayer Advocate and the ETAAC, shall report to the
Committee on Finance of the Senate and the Committee on Ways
and Means of the House of Representatives, on taxpayer usage of
such e-file program.
SEC. 2. BUSINESS RESPONSIBILITY STANDARDS.
Members of the Free File Alliance must meet the standards set forth
in section 9.104-1 of title 48, Code of Federal Regulations, that would
be used by the Federal Government to evaluate the business
responsibility of a company and the commerciality of its offered
product or service if such company were being considered as a contract
source for the purchase of commercial products or services for the
Federal Government's end use.
SEC. 3. RETURN-FREE TAX SYSTEM.
Neither the Secretary of the Treasury nor any delegate of the
Secretary may implement a return-free tax system under which
individuals would be permitted to comply with the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986 without making the return required under section 6012 of such
Code for taxable years beginning after 2007, unless the authorization
to implement such a system is enacted into law by an Act of Congress
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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