Elizabeth Maresca commented on the hidden pitfalls of free tax preparation services for CBS.
Elizabeth Maresca, a tax law professor at Fordham University Law School, said instituting a prefilled form would have mixed results for Americans. She noted that people with simple tax returns who don’t bother to itemize could benefit from such a system as would those who never file taxes but are due refunds.
Yet, she acknowledges that the IRS could make mistakes. Another major concern is what would happen to people who make a living filing taxes, especially accountants who are self-employed or work at small firms.
“We don’t want to put 50,000 people out of work,” said Maresca. “There are a lot of mom-and-pop shops out there that support their families doing taxes.”
