IRS’s ‘Non-Partisan’ Pick to Study Tax System Isn’t So Non-Partisan

New America is funded by Democratic donors including Laurene Powell Jobs and George Soros

The IRS in February tapped a “non-partisan” think tank to advise a controversial overhaul of the agency’s “direct file” tax return system. But the organization in question, New America, does not have a particularly non-partisan track record. In fact, it routinely advocates for Democratic policies.

New America is funded by some of the Democratic Party’s biggest donors and has backed radical policy positions such as the movement to defund police. The Beltway think tank also claims its U.S.-Iran Initiative “helped pave the way for the landmark Iran nuclear agreement.” It hosted a book party for an anti-Israel activist who compared Israel to Nazi Germany, and one of its scholars called for a “military coup” to oust former president Donald Trump after his inauguration.

Now, New America has a major role in a potential overhaul at the IRS that could make the tax agency both tax collector and tax preparer for millions of Americans. The IRS tapped New America to study the merits of an expansion of its system for the filing of free online tax returns. While liberal lawmakers like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) say the system will save taxpayers both time and money, Republicans balk at the conflict of interest inherent in the arrangement.

Critics also say the IRS pick does not live up to the mandate for the study, which is funded with $15 million earmarked in the Inflation Reduction Act. The proposal called for a study by a “non-partisan” group. New America is funded by Democratic donors like Laurene Powell Jobs, George Soros, and Reid Hoffman. Its president is longtime Hillary Clinton crony Anne-Marie Slaughter.

“The Administration handpicked New America, a think tank with ties to the liberal wing of the Democrat party that has already advocated for this bureaucratic expansion,” said Rep. Jason Smith (R., Mo.), the chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee. “Can we really trust the IRS to file Americans’ taxes for them in a fair and impartial way when it already stacks the deck towards a predetermined conclusion to gain more power?”

In fact, New America has already made up its mind on the issue it is tasked with studying. The think tank said in a 2021 report that the IRS “can and should” implement a system to expand its direct file system.

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