New officials often make a splash, and Musk is about to 'make moves' again!
On November 20, Beijing time, U.S. media reported that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by Tesla CEO Musk is considering developing a free mobile tax filing application. As a result of this news, the stock prices of U.S. tax service providers H&R Block and Intuit plummeted.
As of the close of U.S. stocks on Tuesday, H&R Block was down over 8% and Intuit was down over 5%, with market values shrinking to $7.6 billion and $180.6 billion, respectively. It is understood that H&R Block earns nearly $4 billion annually from its tax preparation services, while about one-third of Intuit's revenue (approximately $5 billion) comes from its online tax filing platform TurboTax.
Developing free tax filing software?
According to the Washington Post, informed sources revealed that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by Musk is discussing the development of a free mobile tax filing application.
It was reported that Trump appointed billionaire Musk and former pharmaceutical executive Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the Department of Government Efficiency last week, assigning them two main tasks: to cut government spending and reduce federal regulations. Informed sources stated that the leaders of the organization also discussed reforming the tax system to allow Americans to file taxes via mobile applications, viewing it as an opportunity to improve the interaction between millions of taxpayers and the federal government. This idea is not seen as a core focus of the Department of Government Efficiency's committee work, but it may still become one of its official goals after it takes office.
Last weekend, the Department of Government Efficiency in the U.S. posted a tweet highlighting how complex U.S. tax laws have become. The tweet emphasized that since 1955, the word count of U.S. tax laws has surged nearly 1000% to 16 million words, and the lengthy and complex tax rules cause Americans to spend 6.5 billion hours annually preparing and filing tax returns. The post concluded by stating, 'This needs to be simplified!'
After the news spread that the Department of Government Efficiency is considering developing free tax filing software, the stock prices of tax service companies plummeted significantly, with H&R Block falling nearly 9% at one point and Intuit dropping over 6%. As of the close of U.S. stocks on Tuesday, H&R Block was down 8.2% and Intuit down 5.1%, with market values evaporating by $679 million and $9.7 billion respectively. Currently, these two companies dominate the U.S. tax preparation industry, earning billions of dollars annually through digital and face-to-face services. Analysts pointed out that the government's plan to create a free mobile tax filing application could have a significant impact on several businesses in the tax preparation sector, especially with only a few months left until the midterm elections.
Trump also announced several personnel appointments and nominations.
On November 19 local time, U.S. President-elect Trump nominated Howard Lutnick, CEO of financial company Cantor Fitzgerald, for the position of Secretary of Commerce.
It is reported that Lutnick was appointed by Trump in August this year as co-chair of the presidential transition team, helping Trump review and provide advice on cabinet nominees.
On the same day, Trump announced that he would appoint Linda McMahon as the next U.S. Secretary of Education. McMahon previously served as the head of the Small Business Administration during Trump's first presidential term and is also a co-founder and former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). She was previously considered a strong contender for the position of Secretary of Commerce.
It is worth noting that the position of Secretary of the Treasury is one of the key cabinet posts that the Trump administration has not yet publicly disclosed. The new Treasury Secretary candidate has sparked public debate and has not been nominated by Trump for a long time. According to U.S. media reports, Trump is about to interview two potential candidates.
On the 19th local time, citing informed sources, it was reported that Trump is scheduled to interview former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Walsh and Apollo Global Management CEO Mark Rowan for the position of Secretary of the Treasury on the 20th.
After winning the 2024 U.S. presidential election, Trump has recently nominated several key positions in his cabinet. Fox News television host Pete Hegseth received the nomination for the 'number two' position of Secretary of Defense; Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio received the nomination for Secretary of State; former Special Forces member and Congressman Mike Waltz was nominated for the position of Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs; and Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. became the candidate for Secretary of Health and Human Services.#BabyMarvinf9c7值得拥🈶 
