edit: save_ferris linked to an excellent story below: https://www.propublica.org/article/filing-taxes-could-be-fre...
- why does a judge in a lawsuit get to make the decision here? I.e. why is this kind of law not debated as part of public discourse and a decision made through a democratic path?
- given this benefits a tiny fraction of people in the US, why doesn’t a particular party/politician take a stand on it as a policy to win a chunk of votes?
For the first point, a UK former judge spoke extensively on the topic of the courts overstepping their remit as part of the 2019 Reith lectures: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00057m8
Because national politics in the U.S. in 2020 is big business. It's not about votes or public policy, it's about redirecting funds to party coffers, paid consultants, and ideally the office-holders themselves (or at least their advisors, family and friends).
What judge?
The FTC investigation mentioned in the article may end with the FTC filing a lawsuit, but that would be about whether Intuit deceived taxpayers (by directing them towards a paid version even if they were eligible to file for free), not whether the Free File program should exist or whether the IRS should develop its own software.
The Free File program as it currently exists is the result of executive action, a “memorandum of understanding” between the IRS and tax software companies. [1] Last year there was a bill in Congress that would have codified it into law, but that part of the bill was dropped due to concerns it would permanently bar the IRS from developing its own software. ProPublica’s reporting about Intuit’s obfuscation played a part in that outcome. So there was a “public discourse” of sorts, although it’s a pretty obscure issue.
Also:
> given this benefits a tiny fraction of people in the US
Keep in mind that a large fraction of Congress follows the ideology that, broadly speaking, the government can’t do anything right and it’s best to outsource as much as possible to private companies. Intuit’s lobbying was obviously a major factor, but they were playing for a receptive audience. Congress is also not particularly tech-savvy, by and large.
[1] https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/news/2019/jun/congress-...
A similar bill was passed in 2019: https://www.propublica.org/article/congress-is-about-to-ban-...