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

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

#111

Post by bobro »

ghaff wrote: post #91
cj wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Half of the allure of turbo tax is figuring out if the standard deduction is more or less favorable than itemized. Maybe the IRS should start by building a tool that points you in the right direction before it tries to build a TurboTax clone.

I assume that information exists. It's mostly just totaling up some numbers. I know these days, for me, standard deduction works unless I have some outlier charitable/investment thing going on which I'm going to talk to my accountant about anyway. I assume there are other alternate energy credits and the like but not sure how they work and again aren't in play for most people in a given year.

Mortgage interest and state income taxes can easily get you well over the standard deduction for single people.

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

#112

Post by janalsncm »

avalys wrote: post #80
jjulius wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The suggestion that citizens have equal access to communicate with their political reps as corporations is also laughable.

A corporation can represent the interests of hundreds or thousands of people - investors, shareholders, employees, customers (who depend on the product), etc. The larger corporations, even more so. But still, the Congressional office buildings are open to the public. Anyone can walk in and present their case. Yes, of course a senator cannot make as much time to meet with the millions of individual citizens as they ca…

Corporations may touch a large number of people but those people are not a representative sample. Further, corporations are not lobbying for the interests of that large group of people, they are lobbying for the interests of the corporation, whose interests may incidentally and temporarily align with the groups you mentioned. The interests of the corporation only align with those of the people you mention insofar as those are in line with maximizing profits. However, this completely ignores the externalities of maximizing profits, such as those to the environment.

More broadly, a country whose politicians represent the interests of corporations is no longer a democracy. Democracy is for people. Corporations are not people. They are abstract legal entities wired to maximize profits. The fact that they are composed of people is immaterial, since they do many things contrary to the interests of those people all the time.

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

#113

Post by jjulius »

avalys wrote: post #80
jjulius wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The suggestion that citizens have equal access to communicate with their political reps as corporations is also laughable.

A corporation can represent the interests of hundreds or thousands of people - investors, shareholders, employees, customers (who depend on the product), etc. The larger corporations, even more so. But still, the Congressional office buildings are open to the public. Anyone can walk in and present their case. Yes, of course a senator cannot make as much time to meet with the millions of individual citizens as they ca…

The disconnect occurs when you realize that the issues businesses lobby for don't always benefit their own employees, nor are they only ever lobbying just to stay alive as a business.

In point of fact, Intuit's lobbying in this very instance also negatively impacts their own employees.

Edit: A generic example to further drive the point home would be oil companies lobbying against environmental protections. Such moves only benefit the business and directly harm everyone, including their own employees.

Edit 2: And then there are all of the instances where businesses have lobbied against changes to labor laws, wages, etc. that would objectively improve the lives of their own employees...

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

#114

Post by mulmen »

ijhuygft776 wrote: post #85
mulmen wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can they figure out our taxes without our returns? For simple stuff like paychecks maybe. What if you are self-employed? What if you are a contractor? What if you barter or pay cash?

of course it would not cover all cases... but I'm guessing that it would cover most people... why would I want them to have my files if all they are going to do is use them against me anyways?

> but I'm guessing that it would cover most people...

Do you have any reason to believe that?

Are they your documents? Can you accrue taxes independently?

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

#115

Post by colordrops »

ang_cire wrote: post #37
colordrops wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a game of semantics. The other commenter's meaning is that a "tech company" would produce valuable tech that wouldn't otherwise exist. Intuit uses tech to do the opposite. McDonalds uses tech too, but they aren't a tech company.

McDonald's main product is not a piece of software. Intuit's is.

That's what I'm saying though, they don't even produce a product. They produce legislative influence to create a money collecting trap. Turboxtax isn't a "product" per se. That's like calling the mafia security guards because they force you to pay protection money. Many countries don't even require filling out tax forms. You just sign and pay.

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

#116

Post by al_borland »

plus wrote: post #81
dehrmann wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A 1040EZ covers that case and filing it is the cost of the stamp and envelope.

My understanding is that if a 1040EZ is appropriate for you, then TurboTax will also be free. It's only if you have a more complex filing situation that they charge. Please correct me if I'm wrong, though.

It’s only free for federal, then they change you for state. I’m sure if they charged for both the final cost would be the same. They jack up the price of the state tax filing to cover the “free” federal taxes.

This is how pretty much every “free” tax program works.

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

#117

Post by mulmen »

lmm wrote: post #66
mulmen wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What laws have they broken?

Well, apparently they've been putting out deceptive advertising.

The claim is that Intuit is a “criminal lobbying organization” so what lobbying laws were broken? Or was lobbying meant to be a verb instead of an adjective?

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

#118

Post by mulmen »

jrockway wrote: post #108
lmm wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, apparently they've been putting out deceptive advertising.

Is there any non-deceptive advertising?

Yes. I bought a cheeseburger once and got a free coke, just like the sign said.

There’s certainly a line because some advertising is illegal and some isn’t.

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

#119

Post by ghaff »

jrockway wrote: post #107
ghaff wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I assume that information exists. It's mostly just totaling up some numbers. I know these days, for me, standard deduction works unless I have some outlier charitable/investment thing going on which I'm going to talk to my accountant about anyway. I assume there are other alternate energy credits and the like but not sure how they work and again aren't in play for most people in a given year.

Mortgage interest is the big one.

Fair enough. I don't have any longer.

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

#120

Post by al_borland »

xahrepap wrote: post #44
abirch wrote: post #2

This is nice. Free should mean free no matter how much large print text to clarify is needed.

Next I’d like them to go after windshield chip repair shops and pharmacies that advertise “free*” services. Where free == paid by your insurance. Assuming your insurance will pay for all of it. Free doesn’t mean paid for someone you paid to handle it for you.

I asked one of those chip repair guys how it worked years ago. He said the insurance companies pay them to repair the chips, because those little fixes are much cheaper than paying to replace the whole windshield when it inevitably cracks. It seems like a win-win-win. The driver gets the windshield fixed with no out of pocket cost, the chip guy makes some cash, and the insurance company saves money.

Where’s the downside?

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