TurboTax’s misleading advertising exposed

  • FTC rules that TurboTax’s advertising was deceptive
  • Intuit committed “egregious” violations of deceptive acts and practices
  • TurboTax must either refrain from advertising anything for free or clearly state eligibility
  • Intuit reached a $141 million settlement with state attorneys general in 2022
  • IRS testing its own no-cost tax filing program in 12 states

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has ruled that TurboTax, the popular tax preparation platform, used deceptive advertising by promoting free tax preparation services that many customers had to pay for. The FTC’s decision, which comes just one week before the start of tax-filing season, states that Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, committed "egregious" violations of federal prohibitions against deceptive acts and practices. The agency’s ruling requires TurboTax to either refrain from advertising anything for free unless it’s free for everyone, or clearly state the eligibility criteria for the free offering. Intuit has previously reached a $141 million settlement with state attorneys general for allegedly deceiving customers into paying for tax services. The IRS is also testing its own no-cost tax filing program in 12 states, but it has faced criticism from the tax-software industry.

Public Companies: Intuit (INTU)
Private Companies:
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Factuality Level: 7
Justification: The article provides information about the Federal Trade Commission’s ruling against Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, for deceptive advertising. It includes details about the violations and the FTC’s decision. The article also mentions a settlement reached by Intuit with state attorneys general in 2022. However, the article lacks specific examples or evidence of the deceptive ads and does not provide a balanced perspective by including any statements from Intuit defending its actions. Overall, the article provides some factual information but could benefit from more comprehensive reporting.

Noise Level: 3
Justification: The article provides information about the Federal Trade Commission’s ruling against TurboTax for deceptive advertising. It includes details about the violations and the options given to TurboTax. The article also mentions a previous settlement with state attorneys general. However, there is some repetitive information and unnecessary details about Intuit’s criticism of the ruling and the stock market performance of Intuit shares.

Financial Relevance: Yes
Financial Markets Impacted: The ruling by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, may impact the financial performance of the company. It could also have implications for the tax-software industry as a whole.

Presence of Extreme Event: No
Nature of Extreme Event: No
Impact Rating of the Extreme Event: No
Justification: The article pertains to financial topics as it discusses the ruling by the FTC against Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, for deceptive advertising practices. The ruling may impact the financial markets and companies in the tax-software industry. However, there is no mention of an extreme event in the article.

Reported publicly: www.marketwatch.com