UC Davis

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.