FTC Is Investigating Intuit over TurboTax Practices
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FTC Is Investigating Intuit over TurboTax Practices
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Re: FTC Is Investigating Intuit over TurboTax Practices
#2Not sure I understand the hate for TurboTax. Literally not a single person is forced to use it. I do use it and it's a very good product for the most part.
Perhaps energy should be directed at the actual tax code complexity rather than software built to help navigate filing.
Ted Cruz's tax plan would have practically eliminated the need for TurboTax-type software. https://taxfoundation.org/details-and-analysis-senator-ted-c...
But, let's not forget what Milton Friedman had to say about tax reform: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TruCIPy79w8
Re: FTC Is Investigating Intuit over TurboTax Practices
#3Not sure I understand the hate for TurboTax. Literally not a single person is forced to use it. I do use it and it's a very good product for the most part. Perhaps energy should be directed at the actual tax code complexity rather than software built to help navigate filing. Ted Cruz's tax plan would have practically eliminated the need for TurboTax-type software. https://taxfoundation.org/details-and-analysis-senato…
People hate TurboTax because Intuit spends obscene amounts of money lobbying to keep the tax code complicated so they have a market.
Re: FTC Is Investigating Intuit over TurboTax Practices
#4Not sure I understand the hate for TurboTax. Literally not a single person is forced to use it. I do use it and it's a very good product for the most part. Perhaps energy should be directed at the actual tax code complexity rather than software built to help navigate filing. Ted Cruz's tax plan would have practically eliminated the need for TurboTax-type software. https://taxfoundation.org/details-and-analysis-senato…
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Re: FTC Is Investigating Intuit over TurboTax Practices
#5Not sure I understand the hate for TurboTax. Literally not a single person is forced to use it. I do use it and it's a very good product for the most part. Perhaps energy should be directed at the actual tax code complexity rather than software built to help navigate filing. Ted Cruz's tax plan would have practically eliminated the need for TurboTax-type software. https://taxfoundation.org/details-and-analysis-senato…
> Perhaps energy should be directed at the actual tax code complexity rather than software built to help navigate filing.
It's hard to tackle the complexity of the tax code when the company you're defending here has spent millions to keep it complex and out of the hands of the government.[0]
The "tax complexity" argument is a red herring when talking about tax prep. The US government could absolutely offer free tax filing services to taxpayers without the help of private industry and also without needing to simplify the tax code. I'm not saying that the complexity of the tax code isn't a problem, but it's out of scope here. The idea that the complexity of the US tax code standing in the way of better filing options for taxpayers has absolutely no merit when companies are spending millions to fight legislation that gives the government the ability to offer its own tax prep software.
This is rent-seeking behavior on the part of private industry, plain and simple.
0: https://www.propublica.org/article/filing-taxes-could-be-fre...
Re: FTC Is Investigating Intuit over TurboTax Practices
#6Not sure I understand the hate for TurboTax. Literally not a single person is forced to use it. I do use it and it's a very good product for the most part. Perhaps energy should be directed at the actual tax code complexity rather than software built to help navigate filing. Ted Cruz's tax plan would have practically eliminated the need for TurboTax-type software. https://taxfoundation.org/details-and-analysis-senato…
> Perhaps energy should be directed at the actual tax code complexity rather than software built to help navigate filing. It's hard to tackle the complexity of the tax code when the company you're defending here has spent millions to keep it complex and out of the hands of the government.[0] The "tax complexity" argument is a red herring when talking about tax prep. The US government could absolutely offer free tax f…
And just to add to this, the IRS software could be significantly easier to use than the commercial offerings.
That is because they could pre-populate much of the W2/1099/stock sales/etc data since its all being reported to the IRS from other organizations. For the vast majority of people it could be as simple as logging into a web site and clicking "no" to a bunch of questions like "did you have more than 20k of medical bills last year", and then "I accept" at the bottom where it prints your final tax. As I understand it, that is how some other countries handle their taxes..
Re: FTC Is Investigating Intuit over TurboTax Practices
#7Not sure I understand the hate for TurboTax. Literally not a single person is forced to use it. I do use it and it's a very good product for the most part. Perhaps energy should be directed at the actual tax code complexity rather than software built to help navigate filing. Ted Cruz's tax plan would have practically eliminated the need for TurboTax-type software. https://taxfoundation.org/details-and-analysis-senato…
Even better, the think tank attached to the article you linked to has an article explicitly rejecting the idea of pre-filled tax returns for taxpayers.[0]
So how exactly does Ted's plan to simplify the tax code have anything to do with filing in the first place if the organization you're backing up your argument with doesn't even support doing away with private tax prep? You think the tax code is gonna be simplified to the point that Intuit just lays down and says "welp, no more money to be made here, the market solved itself out of a revenue stream"?
0: https://taxfoundation.org/pre-filled-forms-solution-tax-comp...
Re: FTC Is Investigating Intuit over TurboTax Practices
#8Not sure I understand the hate for TurboTax. Literally not a single person is forced to use it. I do use it and it's a very good product for the most part. Perhaps energy should be directed at the actual tax code complexity rather than software built to help navigate filing. Ted Cruz's tax plan would have practically eliminated the need for TurboTax-type software. https://taxfoundation.org/details-and-analysis-senato…
2017 story on how Intuit killed the ReadyReturn program for pre-calculated returns for California.
https://priceonomics.com/the-stanford-professor-who-fought-t...
https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2017/03/22/521132960/epis...
Re: FTC Is Investigating Intuit over TurboTax Practices
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Perhaps energy should be directed at the actual tax code complexity rather than software built to help navigate filing. It's hard to tackle the complexity of the tax code when the company you're defending here has spent millions to keep it complex and out of the hands of the government.[0] The "tax complexity" argument is a red herring when talking about tax prep. The US government could absolutely offer free tax f…
And just to add to this, the IRS software could be significantly easier to use than the commercial offerings. That is because they could pre-populate much of the W2/1099/stock sales/etc data since its all being reported to the IRS from other organizations. For the vast majority of people it could be as simple as logging into a web site and clicking "no" to a bunch of questions like "did you have more than 20k of medi…
>>>And just to add to this, the IRS software could be significantly easier to use than the commercial offerings.
Someone has never worked in government contracting or developing Software from Government Committee
a IRS Tax Software would look more than the universally hated Unemployment Systems, or the government healthcare markets
Not a easy to use streamline system
If you want something to be inefficient, have the government do it
Re: FTC Is Investigating Intuit over TurboTax Practices
#10Not sure I understand the hate for TurboTax. Literally not a single person is forced to use it. I do use it and it's a very good product for the most part. Perhaps energy should be directed at the actual tax code complexity rather than software built to help navigate filing. Ted Cruz's tax plan would have practically eliminated the need for TurboTax-type software. https://taxfoundation.org/details-and-analysis-senato…
There would be no problem with TurboTax if it was a product that solved a real problem. If the complexity of the tax code and the process to file your taxes were 100% a problem created by the federal government and the states. It works pretty well, it's not too expensive, it has free options, not what's to like?
It isn't like that though. The IRS has nearly all the pieces it needs, if not all the pieces, to create a system like the UK, where they just send you your return and you sign it unless you think there's a mistake. But that system doesn't exist because of companies like Intuit who lobby hard to prevent it from existing.
In essence, Turbotax is solving a problem that Intuit is creating (or at least lobby to prevent anyone from fixing it).