FTC bans TurboTax from advertising 'free' services, calls deceptive advertising

Post by raegis » Tue, Jan 23, 2024, 1:54 AM UTC

WesternWind wrote: post #8

toomuchtodo wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are not a tech company. They are a regulatory capture company that uses tech to extract from the general public what should be free. The code and platform are the performance art to enable the rake. Edit: Meant to scope this comment solely to TurboTax. Replies correcting me are well deserved.

No, they are a tech company, they produce software for their main product. Like a lot of companies, tech and not, they use their power and resources to keep their position. The difference is that their actual competitor is the government. But that's also a big part of why private healthcare is way too expensive in the US, for worse results than other places.

Post by ijhuygft776 » Tue, Jan 23, 2024, 1:57 AM UTC

WheelsAtLarge wrote: post #13

Finally, something is being done. Paying taxes should be free for most people. Especially if you only have to deal with the standard deductions.

Post by slg » Tue, Jan 23, 2024, 1:59 AM UTC

jjulius wrote: post #14

slg wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>they've invested infinitely more in lobbying to keep tax-filing complex I always feel the need to point out that anger at this is misplaced. Intuit is a business lobbying on behalf of itself like countless other businesses do. If the result makes you upset, you should be upset at our political system and the politicians who are willing to sell out the country for whatever those lobbyists are pushing. It is those pol…

We can be upset at politicians for "selling out" to the lobbyists. We can be upset at lobbyists for pushing things that they know aren't in the best interests of consumers. We can be upset at businesses for wanting to take advantage of consumers for their own gain. All of these can be true at the same time.

Post by sharps1 » Tue, Jan 23, 2024, 2:03 AM UTC

halJordan wrote: post #28

logiduck wrote: post #22

I just saw an TurboTax Ad where a guy was like "I Like free stuff" and then it said he was "happy to read the disclaimer" on TurboTax and see that "Roughly 37% of taxpayers qualify" which he looks thoughtfully in the distance and says "Thats me!" I thought it was a funny commercial because 37% doesn't seem like a lot and Turbotax is portraying it as the average person will identify themselves as part of that 37% even…

I agree on every level, but I'm compelled to remind you this is the America where wendy's (?) had to revert to a 1/4 pounder from a 1/3 pounder bc people thought they were getting less meat. And let's not forget the ever-present anti-education cohort that can't be convinced math is good even when you tell them it's how you calculate discounts or tips.

Post by ghaff » Tue, Jan 23, 2024, 2:03 AM UTC

WheelsAtLarge wrote: post #13

Finally, something is being done. Paying taxes should be free for most people. Especially if you only have to deal with the standard deductions.