I didn't E-File my taxes this year. I've never done it. I'm really not interested in unrelated third parties handling my tax data. I simply don't care how much they swear up and down that they'll hold it in confidence forever, that they won't look at it, that they won't use it to market stuff I don't want to me, and that their promises will hold true when their companies are bought. I simply don't buy it.

I'm glad that it costs the IRS more money to process my paper return. That makes filing on paper a form of protest. I'm protesting the IRS decision not to allow individuals to file returns directly with the IRS. There's no technical reason this can't be done, and indeed, the IRS accepts and, in some cases, demands electronic filing from corporations. So why not individuals?

The tax software lobby is to blame here. Back in the late 1990's, after self-preparation software had begun coming into its own, the software vendors told the IRS that they would lose business if the IRS opened channels that allowed individuals to file directly with the government. So, the IRS in its infinite wisdom decided that it would be a shame to cause businesses to lose revenue even it it meant taxpayer dollars saved, and it decided to continue requiring intermediaries to E-File.

Now follow this logic. If the third party software vendors would be losing business, it means that they make money acting as intermediaries between the filer and the IRS. If the IRS opened E-filing to the public and the third-party vendors didn't get money, it means that either the government or the filer is saving money. Saving money is something I'm all in favor of here.

The next question I have is why E-Filing is so valuable to the vendors? They're generally not charging filers anything to act as intermediaries. If they keep to their word and don't peek at the tax return data, then the data is worthless. Perhaps they get some money from the government for securely storing and providing access to a tax return? But to what end? Shouldn't the government have its own electronic copy of whatever was filed, so why should a third party hold onto it in perpetuity?

Maybe individuals are demanding of customer support resources and need somewhere to call if there's an issue transmitting the tax returns. Maybe the government's payment to the third parties pays for that. I don't really buy this as an argument though...with a fallback of submitting a return by mail, does it really matter that much if an electronic filing doesn't make it through? And if the software is good enough, aren't people going to have an easy time using it anyway? Imagine: "Click this button to E-File your return directly with the IRS". If that fails, then "We're sorry, we couldn't communicate with the IRS, but we'd be happy to print a return for you to mail." Problem solved.

Not having E-Filed before, I don't know who handles payments when taxes are owed. The IRS already has arrangements to transfer money, so permitting them to debit a checking account isn't really a stretch. What value does the middleman add here?

In fact, what value is the middleman adding to any of this? As far as I can tell, it's not enough to subject my return to privacy threats.

My returns are in the mail.