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posted by martyb on Wednesday July 17 2019, @08:55PM   Printer-friendly
from the making-money dept.

Trump’s Tax Law Threatened TurboTax’s Profits. So the Company Started Charging the Disabled, the Unemployed and Students.

The 2017 tax overhaul vastly expanded the number of people who could file simplified tax returns, a boon to millions of Americans.

But the new law directly threatened the lucrative business of Intuit, the maker of TurboTax.

Although the company draws in customers with the promise of a "free" product, its fortunes depend on getting as many customers as possible to pay. It had been regularly charging $100 or more for returns that included itemized deductions for mortgage interest and charitable donations. Under the new law, many wealthier taxpayers would no longer be filing that form, qualifying them to use the company's free software.

Intuit executives came up with a way to preserve the company's hefty profit margins: It began charging more low-income people. Which ones? Individuals with disabilities, the unemployed and people who owe money on student loans, all of whom use tax forms that TurboTax previously included for free.


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  • (Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday July 18 2019, @12:04PM

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Thursday July 18 2019, @12:04PM (#868459) Journal
    Ok, let's suppose you're right. Then what's the next logical step once we have free tax filing software from the IRS?

    2) Tax filing software companies bribe government to make the free tax filing software both complex and cost the filer more.

    You can't fix a problem by relying on the same broken mechanisms that created the problem in the first place.