Thousands back Warren on tax filing, Panama Papers

Thousands of people have signed petitions in support of Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-Mass.) recent actions on tax filing and the Panama Papers.

The petitions were set up by Credo Action, a network of about 4 million activists.

{mosads}As of Monday morning, more than 65,000 people had signed a Credo petition to urge Congress to support legislation Warren introduced last week that aims to simplify and reduce the cost of tax filing. 

The bill would instruct the Internal Revenue Service to develop its own free online tax-preparation service, and it would prohibit the agency from entering into agreements with tax-prep companies that restrict its ability to provide the free services.

“We need to demand that Congress stop listening to TurboTax lobbyists and start making filing cheaper and easier for the rest of us,” Credo stated.

Additionally, more than 100,000 people have signed a Credo petition that follows the lead of Warren and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and asks the Treasury Department to investigate U.S. links to the Panama Papers.

The Panama Papers are documents from a Panama-based law firm, Mossack Fonesca, that sets up shell companies for clients. Wealthy people can use shell companies for purposes including money laundering, tax evasion and evading sanctions. Warren and Brown sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew earlier this month urging the department to investigate whether any U.S. citizens or businesses that have been involved with Mossack Fonesca have engaged in illegal activity.

Another Credo petition set up following the reports on the Panama Papers also has more than 100,000 signers. That petition asks Congress to support a bill that would require American companies to disclose their true human owners to the government.