The tax man won't be happy about this.
  • pelespirit@sh.itjust.works
    22·
    2 days ago

    Before you mistake the move as an act of resistance by those within the agency who are trying to keep the project alive, Direct File getting open-sourced was always part of the plan. The code was published in compliance with the SHARE IT Act, which requires agencies to share custom source code (though, of course, the Trump administration is not always motivated by following the law, so this wasn’t a given).

    In a report published last year, the IRS explained its reasoning for making the code available publicly: “First, it would enable public scrutiny of that code and invite independent groups to assess its accuracy and report potential issues. Second, other tax administrators, both in states and internationally, could build upon and contribute to the IRS’s work, improving the robustness of the software over time and providing additional public value.”

    • Glaedr304@lemmy.world
      6·
      2 days ago

      Can you walk me through why you think this is bad? Doing a quick search for the license didnt make it apparent to me.

      • jagged_circle@feddit.nlEnglish
        9·
        2 days ago

        It means that any company can take that code, modify it (as would be required every year per IRS tax changes), and resell it without being required to publish the source code changes.

        What many European countries are doing is requiring the government to publish code under a copyleft license. That would allow companies to also benefit from this code to make their own tools (which they could also sell), and it would require them to publish the source code of their improvements.

        Basically copyleft legally ensures collaboration. Public domain does not.