EY Americas Tax Innovation Foundry buys TaxChat

Ernst & Young New York headquarters
The Ernst & Young national headquarters at 5 Times Square in New York.

Ernst & Young’s Tax Innovation Foundry, which the firm acquired last year, has bought certain tax technology platform assets from TaxChat, a startup that focuses on mobile tax prep services. TaxChat’s CEO co-founder Steve Toy has joined EY, and is now a member of the Foundry. He previously worked with Fareportal, Billboard and Software Secure.

The Foundry is EY’s in-house business accelerator and is tasked with developing new, forward-thinking tax-related services within the firm.

TaxChat was founded in March 2016, and it works by matching tax preparers with filers who log into the app. TaxChat, along with competitors such as Taxfyle, Taxaroo and Intuit’s Tada service, aim to be the “Uber” of tax preparation.

“We are excited that Steve has joined our growing team of internal entrepreneurs,” said Chirag Patel, leader of EY Americas Tax Innovation Foundry in a statement. “We remain focused on building and transforming businesses in the tax, finance, and human capital segments. This acquisition is one of several strategic investments EY will make to drive long-term growth and to offer new digital-first experiences to our clients.”

“It was an easy decision for me to join EY,” stated Toy. “We share a vision around disruption of the tax and finance functions. The EY Americas Tax Innovation Foundry is a unique destination. Its founders seek to remain entrepreneurial while accelerating time-to-market and driving scale.”

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