Okay, so there's this thing called tax season where people have to give some of their money to the government. It happens every year and starts in January. The IRS is a big group that helps with this process. They made a new program that lets some people file their taxes for free instead of paying other companies like H & R Block. This could make those other companies lose customers and money if more people use the free program. Right now, it's only available in 12 states but might go to all the states later. Read from source...

- The author starts by mentioning that tax season officially started this week and introduces a new program by the IRS as something special. However, he does not explain what is so special about it or how it differs from previous years' programs. He also does not provide any context on why tax preparation companies are facing challenges or competition from the IRS.
- The author uses vague terms like "a substantial portion of business" and "a lot of money" without providing any concrete numbers, statistics, or evidence to support his claims. He also assumes that taxpayers will prefer the free option over paying for professional services, which may not be true for everyone.
- The author cites Biden's Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 as the source of funding for the IRS program, but does not mention any other benefits or implications of this act for taxpayers or the economy. He also does not address any potential drawbacks or challenges of implementing such a large-scale program in a short time frame.
- The author mentions that H & R Block shares fell by 3% after the announcement of the IRS program, but does not provide any other information on how this news affected other tax preparation companies, investors, consumers, or stakeholders. He also does not explore any possible reactions or strategies from H & R Block to counter the threat posed by the IRS program.

Bearish for tax preparation companies