Chris Given

New commissioner confident IRS can implement OBBBA's tax provisions Commissioner Billy Long explained his management philosophy at the 2025 Tax Summit of the National Association of Enrolled Agents, where he said IRS employees will be able to implement the OBBBA’s tax...

Drowned out by the furor over his Direct File comments, the IRS Commissioner also warned at the same event that he’s already behind schedule and expects a late start to filing season next year.

That means delays in getting refunds out the door.

www.journalofaccountancy.com/news/2025/ju...

But if they’re already saying they can’t start filing season before mid-February… 😬

This is what happens when you cut 25% of IRS employees, including driving out some of the long-time MVPs who ensure the IRS delivers filing season, year after year, come hell or high water.

Those who remain have an unenviable challenge ahead of them. I’m rooting for them.

New commissioner confident IRS can implement OBBBA's tax provisions Commissioner Billy Long explained his management philosophy at the 2025 Tax Summit of the National Association of Enrolled Agents, where he said IRS employees will be able to implement the OBBBA’s tax...

Drowned out by the furor over his Direct File comments, the IRS Commissioner also warned at the same event that he’s already behind schedule and expects a late start to filing season next year.

That means delays in getting refunds out the door.

www.journalofaccountancy.com/news/2025/ju...

This is true of government software, too. It is not a coincidence that the beloved Direct File was largely built by federal FTEs.

It has been the honor of my life to serve as Commissioner of BLS alongside the many dedicated civil servants tasked with measuring a vast and dynamic economy. It is vital and important work and I thank them for their service to this nation.

Businesses that use government data may find data less reliable if accurate data is perceived as damaging to the party in power. In India, interference with the release of economic data led leaders of the National Statistical Commission to resign in protest.

Re: Trump/BLS... Firing officials for reporting accurate data unflattering to the regime is straight out of the authoritarian playbook.

Last year I wrote about this and other likely economic consequences of further democratic erosion:

www.brookings.edu/articles/dem...

Trump is planning on firing the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Politicizing agencies that collect employment and economic data is exactly what the Soviets did to conceal an economy that wasn’t working. And it looks Trump is headed in this direction.

Seeing Kamala Harris openly say that the system is broken was so powerful.

Just having someone in her position say it so candidly without qualification was beyond powerful.

Building muscle memory for accessibility Just as musicians develop muscle memory through hours of practicing rudimentary techniques until complex mechanics become second nature, we have to build own muscle memory with assistive technologies ...

I wrote a post about playing drums, building muscle memory, and how that relates to centering accessibility in every product decision as something we do instinctively.

jaredcunha.com/blog/buildin...

A Rockville woman with developmental disabilities was laid off from NIH after 30 years. What’s next for her is uncertain. Andrea Geller loved her job in the mailroom at NIH. But after she was laid off, she's struggling to find a job accommodating her disabilites.

An independent civil service is so important for so many reasons. One overlooked one is that it offers economic opportunities to people who would not otherwise get them from the private sector.
bethesdamagazine.com/2025/07/29/d...

Sorry to hear that, you’re definitely not alone in that experience. Unfortunately, that same AGI validation is used for all e-filing, not just Direct File. This year, DF added a feature called One-Step Signature that skips the AGI check. If DF ever returns, I hope you’ll give us a second chance.

We put it on GitHub! github.com/IRS-Public/d...

Did Republicans ever explain why it was Woke for the IRS to have a tax filing program?

If you’ve wondered how Direct File finally happened after two decades at an impasse, I wrote about three reasons why I think it finally broke through: chrisgiven.com/2025/07/the-...

This is so far over the line I don't even know where to begin.

Trying to get students -- your own students -- expelled or deported because of political activism?

Jesus, I won't even punch down at random college students on *social media*

With Tom Lehrer's passing, I suppose this is a moment to share the story of the prank he played on the National Security Agency, and how it went undiscovered for nearly 60 years.

How great was Tom Lehrer? In 2020, he moved his entire catalog into the public domain because he felt he'd made more than enough money off of it.

Enjoy every Tom Lehrer album:

tomlehrersongs.com

Now if only we could ask everyone to chip in. Maybe, I don’t know, different amounts depending on your ability to pay? I know some folks who could build a tool to make it really easy. bsky.app/profile/ones...

I’m excited to share that 2 months after resigning from the IRS after DOGE killed Direct File, and 14 months after the IRS hired me to continue leading the team designing and building Direct File, the IRS has determined that I am suitable for the role I no longer hold. #efficiency

Kathy Pham and I spoke with @donmoyn.bsky.social about civic tech & reflections on our oral history of USDS.

Thank you to Don for the opportunity, and to Kathy for being such a wonderful partner on all of this work ❤️🙏🏼

And the biggest thanks to our colleagues who trusted us with their stories ❤️

Conservatives are asking Trump for another big tax cut Fresh off passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” some anti-tax advocates hope to push the administration to change how taxable capital gains are calculated.

Via @jeffstein.bsky.social @washingtonpost.com anti-tax interests want the Trump IRS to give an unlawful tax cut to wealthy people by executive fiat.

Just the tip of one of two big icebergs of tax cuts for special interests coming for the tax system. www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Exploring IRS Direct File using the All Screens page A deep dive into Direct File’s All Screens page, which is available to the public through its open source repository.

Q: How did the Direct File team build an accurate, easy-to-use filing app given the complexity of the tax code?

A: Building a source of truth with a bird’s-eye view

Learn how it was done via the All Screens page.

Bonus: it’s also included in the open source repo!

jaredcunha.com/blog/explori...

Exclusive: Operation Excalibur in Los Angeles Was Show of Force Leaks from military's LA deployment reveal Coca Cola vs. Pepsi rivalry, sweaty guardsmen, and abject failure

The IRS was assigned the code name “Sprite” during the LA deployment, alongside other soda names for the other on-the-ground LE agencies (and the Marines). Raises questions about the role IRS CI played, and of course, evokes the false claims about the IRA. www.kenklippenstein.com/p/exclusive-...

This is the beauty of side projects. You get to throw out all the good advice and give into your worst instincts. It’s programmer rumspringa

Trump’s big, beautiful bill directs Treasury to find a replacement for Direct File The IRS debuted Direct File — which enabled taxpayers to file online with the agency for free — as a pilot in 2024 and it received largely positive reviews from those that used it.

The "big, beautiful bill," now headed to Trump's desk for signature, directs the Treasury to study how it will replace Direct File, a free online tax filing service set up last year, with a public-private partnership.

www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...

More reflections on the "civil tech" moment & what comes next.

blog.ronbronson.com/on-public-me...

Direct File is the kind of forthright, straightforward, unapologetic make-government-work-for-you kitchen table pitch that Dems who are looking for national analogues to Mamdani's winning platform should be grasping with both hands.

Robodebt: When automation fails Lessons from Australia's use of algorithms to detect welfare fraud become more relevant in the age of AI

New, from me: how might automation fail in public services?
The Australian Robodebt case provides a compelling set of insights that governments lurching toward AI or algorithms need to pay attention to. 🧵
substack.com/home/post/p-...

Chart showing the duration of select nuclear-related positions in the JCPOA over time.

Reminder that none of this would've been possible if not for the neocons manipulating Trump's hatred of Obama to kill the JCPOA. From there, safeguards became unconstrained enrichment and all the scary things they're trotting out became possible.

Be careful buying what these guys are still selling.