Blog: AIA’s Year in Review
By Chuck Flint, AIA CEO
As 2025 comes to an end, the Alliance for IRS Accountability (AIA) has much to look back on and celebrate. We drove key legislative outcomes and scored major wins that benefit taxpayers across the country, including the elimination of Direct File, the passage of the Internal Revenue Service Math and Taxpayer Help (MATH) Act, and the expansion of 1099-K reporting relief for small businesses.
Perhaps our biggest win of the year is the termination of Direct File. Direct File expanded the size and scope of the IRS by consolidating filing power within the agency, allowing unelected bureaucrats to dictate tax compliance as they deemed fit. Aside from having a direct conflict of interest, the initiative was widely unpopular and inefficient. Despite costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars annually to operate, only 0.47% of eligible Americans used the program. Its elimination has been welcomed by individuals across the political spectrum, reinforcing that the decision to eliminate such a costly and inefficient program is commonsense, not contentious.
Another major victory for AIA and taxpayers alike is the passage of the IRS MATH Act. Another bipartisan effort, this legislation was recently signed into law by President Trump and mirrors one of AIA’s own policy proposals as outlined in our Presumption of Rights Agenda. This legislation ensures that the IRS directly communicates with taxpayers should a math or clerical error appear on a return prior to engaging in aggressive enforcement tactics. By strengthening due process in tax compliance procedures, the IRS MATH Act helps restore confidence within the agency.
AIA also celebrates meaningful relief for small businesses, independent contractors, and gig workers through the expansion of 1099-K reporting thresholds. Under President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the reporting threshold was restored to its original level of $20,000 and 200 transactions. Under the Biden Administration, this threshold was slashed to $600, placing massive compliance burdens on our nation’s entrepreneurs and gig workers who rely on digital payment platforms. Restoring the original standard allows this sector of the economy to grow without unnecessary federal interference.
To round off this year’s exciting news, we are also encouraged by the placement of Holly Paz and Elizabeth Kastenberg on agency leave. Both officials were placed on leave following investigations into their conduct amid serious concerns about politically biased enforcement practices. Federal agencies have a duty to operate impartially, and individuals who politicize enforcement have no place in public service. We urge the IRS to continue to remain vigilant and send a clear message that political targeting by agency employees will not be tolerated.
Looking ahead to 2026, AIA remains committed to advocating for taxpayers by ensuring the IRS returns to being a service-oriented agency that taxpayers can trust, rather than an engine for partisan bureaucrats to target and intimidate political opponents. We are grateful to those who have supported our work thus far, and we look forward to building on this progress in the year ahead.