On: IRS has launched its free tax filing service, Direct File, in 12 states

[throw0101d]

> I'm genuinely baffled by this, why are the tax filing options in the US so fragmented?

Federalism:

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federalism

> Here in the UK […]

Not federated:

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unitary_state

[creshal → throw0101d]

Germany is a federation and US tax filing is still a mess in comparison.

As often with US oddities, the explanation boils down to "the US is big enough to make corruption really attractive and wealthy enough to be able to just ignore it".

[zyuiop → throw0101d]

You'll be pleased to learn that most (if not all) Cantons (= states) in Switzerland, a federalist state, have a free online tax filing solution, that computes both communal, cantonal, and federal taxes.