The IRS open sourced much of its incredibly popular Direct File software as the future of the free tax filing program is at risk of being killed by Intuit’s lobbyists and Donald Trump’s megabill. Meanwhile, several top developers who worked on the software have left the government and joined a project to explore the “future of tax filing” in the private sector. 

Direct File is a piece of software created by developers at the US Digital Service and 18F, the former of which became DOGE and is now unrecognizable, and the latter of which was killed by DOGE. Direct File has been called a “free, easy, and trustworthy” piece of software that made tax filing “more efficient.” About 300,000 people used it last year as part of a limited pilot program, and those who did gave it incredibly positive reviews, according to reporting by Federal News Network. 

But because it is free and because it is an example of government working, Direct File and the IRS’s Free File program more broadly have been the subject of years of lobbying efforts by financial technology giants like Intuit, which makes TurboTax. DOGE sought to kill Direct File, and currently, there is language in Trump’s massive budget reconciliation bill that would kill Direct File. Experts say that “ending [the] Direct File program is a gift to the tax-prep industry that will cost taxpayers time and money.”

That means it’s quite big news that the IRS released most of the code that runs Direct File on Github last week. And, separately, three people who worked on it—Chris Given, Jen Thomas, Merici Vinton—have left government to join the Economic Security Project’s Future of Tax Filing Fellowship, where they will research ways to make filing taxes easier, cheaper, and more straightforward. They will be joined by Gabriel Zucker, who worked on Direct File as part of Code for America.

On 27 May, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry announced that the United Kingdom will allocate funding from the ERA (Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration) initiative to support Ukraine’s military needs. Under this agreement, Ukraine is set to receive $3 billion over 2025–2026. The funds originate from excess profits generated by frozen Russian assets.

The Ministry reported that the agreement was signed by First Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Serhii Boiev and Deputy Minister of Strategic Industries of Ukraine Davyd Aloian. Representing the United Kingdom, Major General Anna-Lee Reilly, Director Strategic Capability, Engagement and Operations at the UK Ministry of Defence, signed the agreement.

Funding targets defense procurement and repairs

Ukraine’s Defense Ministry detailed that the funding will be used for:

• Procurement of defense products manufactured abroad;
• Repair and maintenance of military equipment;
• Joint projects between Ukrainian and international defense companies;
• Procurement of critically essential materials, including items made in Ukraine.

According to Boiev, the use of Russian-origin profits for defense purposes is “not only valuable in practical terms, but also as a matter of principle.” He stated:

“The use of excess profits from Russian assets to reinforce Ukraine’s defense is a just response to aggression and an acknowledgement of Ukraine’s right to self-defense.”

Ukraine seeks to unlock production potential

Deputy Minister Davyd Aloian emphasized the importance of the funding in activating domestic capacity:

“Ukrainian enterprises have a production capacity of $35 billion, but insufficient funding prevents their full utilization. Therefore, leveraging excess profits generated from frozen Russian assets will significantly boost the production and repair capacities of Ukraine’s defense industry.”

The Ukrainian side thanked the United Kingdom for providing the financial support and for backing Ukraine’s armament production efforts.