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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 Friday July 19 2019, @12:48AM (4 children)

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Friday July 19 2019, @12:48AM (#868760) Journal

    The silver lining - yes there is one - only *they* own you, not the whole corporation and zillions of *their* agencies which each fucks you in a different way.

    A hundred masters does sound worse than one. Except that how do the hundred masters "fuck" you? Selling a few bits of information about your buying interests or playing little games that cost you a little money is a far cry from the police state.

  • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday July 19 2019, @12:57AM (3 children)

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Friday July 19 2019, @12:57AM (#868762) Journal

    Except that how do the hundred masters "fuck" you?

    Some fuck you over the cable/fibre. Others fuck you over the phone. Some others fuck you in physical presence

    Some fuck you for taxes. Others for credit rating. Again, some others fuck you in a medical setup that pretend to care about you.
    Examples are innumerable.

    Should I continue or can you take the words of others [soylentnews.org]?.

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
    • (Score: 1) by khallow on Friday July 19 2019, @11:42PM (2 children)

      by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Friday July 19 2019, @11:42PM (#869212) Journal
      And yet it's still nothing compared to a police state. We need to have some perspective here.
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 21 2019, @11:15PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 21 2019, @11:15PM (#869763)

        And yet it's still nothing compared to a police state.

        Would you like it to be?

        We need to have some perspective here.

        I can offer some perspective if you can afford the rent.

        • (Score: 1) by khallow on Monday July 22 2019, @12:17AM

          by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Monday July 22 2019, @12:17AM (#869778) Journal
          Glib talk. A police state decides my life, what I say and think, and even if I try to keep my nose clean, might still can throw me in jail or execute me just to scare my neighbors and coworkers. Meanwhile the hundred corporate "slavers" each do small impairments on my freedom (sometimes in exchange for considerable improvements in my freedom). It's ridiculous to equate the two.

          I can offer some perspective if you can afford the rent.

          Rent is free here. But keep what I said in mind. You're not going anywhere with the argument that 100 minor paper cuts are more dangerous than a bullet to the head.