According to the committee, the ads “some of which are almost entirely made up of the word ‘free’ repeatedly said” mislead people into believing that they can file their taxes for free on TurboTax. “In fact, most taxpayers can not use the ‘free’ service of the company because it is not available to millions of taxpayers, such as those receiving Form 1099 for work in the concert economy or those earning agricultural income. “, The agency stated in a press release. The FTC said that by 2020, “approximately two-thirds of taxpayers could not use TurboTax’s free product.” The FTC is seeking a preliminary injunction that would prevent Intuit from “engaging in deceptive acts or practices” in its marketing and advertising, including TurboTax ads. Intuit said in a statement that it would “strongly dispute” the FTC’s complaint, arguing that the arguments were not credible. “Instead of taking taxpayers away from free tax preparation offers, our free advertising campaigns have led more Americans to file their taxes for free than ever before and have been central to raising awareness about free tax preparation,” he said. and General Counsel of Intuit. Kerry McLean. The IRS has a program that allows many Americans to file taxes for free as part of a partnership with the Free File Alliance, a nonprofit. Intuit said last July that it was withdrawing from the program, however, citing its “restrictions”. If all this seems a little familiar to readers, they may remember ProPublica’s 2019 series of reports that found that Intuit and H&R Block had misled people into paying their taxes. ProPublica found that both companies prevented free versions of their software from appearing in search engine results, making it harder for customers to find them online. The IRS later changed the Free File program, removing a provision that barred the service from creating its own electronic filing system that could compete with software companies’ products.
