In this article, Ventry reviews the business lobbying efforts that derailed California legislation to amend the state’s False Claims Act by permitting tax claims. He argues that opposition to the bill was based on false or misleading claims, and that those efforts effectively helped conceal tax fraud. Ventry also connects the campaign against private enforcement of tax laws with recent “antideference” efforts that undercut public enforcement of those same laws.

In this Special Report, Ventry analyzes Mitre Corp.’s review of the IRS Free File program. He argues that Mitre’s lack of professional distance from the IRS prevented it from delivering an independent report. He discusses how Mitre found a majority of Free File Alliance (FFA) companies hid their Free File websites from eligible Free File users, and lured them to commercial sites. He shows how Mitre reinforced the view that FFA companies participate in Free File for economic gain rather than “philanthropy,” and warned the IRS against challenging the “free-to-fee” model. Mitreʹs warning was unnecessary, Ventry concludes, because the IRS is complicit in the FFAʹs abusive and potentially illegal actions.