The other opponent—surprisingly—are taxpayer advocacy groups. Automatic returns are tied closely to data integrity. The IRS doesn't have a full picture until al

The other opponent—surprisingly—are taxpayer advocacy groups. Automatic returns are tied closely to data integrity. The IRS doesn't have a full picture until all Information Returns (IRs: e.g., W-2s, 1040s, 1099s) are submitted by employers, banks, etc., which may not happen until March in some cases. This means that the IRS can't automatically process your return until March/April. Not a problem, you say? Well, consider this: tax returns in the U.S. are closely tied to tax refunds, which for many Americans, is the largest check they receive all year. So by "fixing" this process, you're affecting real dollars to real Americans, and disproportionately lower-income Americans. It's a political nightmare. Of course, the "refund" process also indicates a broken system: taxpayers are loaning the U.S. government billions of dollars a year, tax free. And an automatic return system would massively reduce fraud (both evasion and refund fraud)... so...