The Senate Finance Committee has approved a tax bill that includes the gist of Sen. Daniel Akaka's Free Internet Filing Act.

The original bill, and the language in the tax bill that cleared committee Wednesday, permits taxpayers to file their taxes through the Internal Revenue Service Web site without using an intermediary.

The premise is that taxpayers who prepare their own taxes should not be required to work through, and reveal personal information to, an intermediary in order to file electronically.

The bill also empowers the Treasury Department to regulate federal tax preparers and sets up a grant program to link tax preparation services for low-and moderate income families with the opening of a bank or credit union account. Four million Earned Income Tax Credit recipients are "unbanked" -- lacking a formal relationship with a financial institution.