Open Source Tax Software Development Project launched
For Immediate Release
January 26th, 2006
The Tax Code Software Foundation launched it Tax Code Software open source development project today on www.sourceforge.net/taxcodesoftware. Tax Code is a complete tax preparation and e-file solution being developed by the tax community. Tax Code can be run on the desktop or on a network, on basically any operating system, including Windows and Linux. The software is developed using standard W3C technologies including XML, XMLSchema, XForms, and XSLT to create an easy to use, extensible, portable, and complete tax programming system. The Foundation has developed a system for structuring government-published information including: PDF Fill in Forms, Instructions, Publications, and E-File Specifications into structured XML Formats. The XML formats "plug-in" to various software engines that provide much of the Tax Code Software's functionality based on the information contained in the structured XML. The result is rapidly produced, tax software that has all of the forms, all of the e-file functions, and all of the instructions built in.
Traditionally, much of the value of tax software comes from the variety of users interfaces available. Examples of this include wizards, as well as custom worksheets that provide necessary supporting calculations for certain forms. Advanced calculations for certain line items may also be needed. Because Tax Code provides for the basic form printing and e-file functionality based on government data, tax code developers are left to focus on creating rich worksheets and adding them to Tax Code's source for the general public use. Tax Code's success in dependent on the contributions of time from tax professionals to develop the software. But the entire tax professional community also reaps the benefits of being free from expensive tax software. The foundation is busy working to attract tax professionals to develop the Tax Code Software. The open source nature of system allows it be reviewed by the public and government, and any discrepancies to be worked out in a public forum. CPAs, Enrolled Agents, Tax Attorneys, Government, Academia, and Computer technologists are all eligible to apply for free membership in the Foundation. Members participate in the Tax Code Council, which provides technical advice to the Foundation and oversees changes to the software. Members may also become a part of work teams and work hands on developing the software.
Tax Code hopes to release its software to the public for the 2007 filing season.
