Lawmakers have written a letter to Intuit CEO Sasan K. Goodarzi demanding answers over what she calls the company’s “Free File scams.”
Tax preparation companies in the US, including Intuit, have a long history of making it difficult to find Free File options. While any taxpayer making under $69,000 a year can legally file their taxes for free, many companies have gone to great lengths to bury those free options, making it difficult for consumers to find.
Senator Warren, Congresswoman Katie Porter, and Congressman Brad Sherman are taking aim at Intuit specifically, writing a letter demanding answers about the company’s behavor.
We are writing regarding your company’s ongoing pattern of hiring former regulators to defend TurboTax products that scam American taxpayers into paying for services that should be free. Most recently, a court filing related to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) complaint against Intuit for its deceptive advertisements of its “bogus” free tax preparation products revealed that former FTC Commissioner Jon Liebowitz has served as outside counsel for Intuit. Given this new revelation and Intuit’s track record of lobbying to protect its shady business practices, we seek to understand the extent to which Intuit has used former government officials to defend and maintain its unethical and potentially illegal practices that cost American taxpayers billions of dollars.
The lawmakers go on to highlight the general…
