Amid continued scandal, Intuit—the financial software company behind TurboTax—is coming under the spotlight of the United States Congress, after it failed to adequately answer questions from Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Among several controversies, Intuit is under fire for deceptively advertising free tax-filing software as it lobbied against free government-sponsored tax filing services. Along with its subsidiary Credit Karma, the company spent nearly $3.3 million in 2021 on lobbying, and $840,000 in the first quarter of 2022, according to Open Secrets.
In June 2022, Warren joined Rep. Katie Porter and Rep. Brad Sherman in imploring the Acting Treasury Department Inspector General Richard K. Delmar, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George, and Acting Inspector General at the Federal Trade Commission Andrew Katsaros to investigate Intuit’s business practices. Officials accuse the company of using the “revolving door” to influence policy decisions and obstruct the Free File program.
Just months ago, the Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint accusing Intuit for deceptively advertising their paid tax preparation services as free filing—the same practices that Warren and company have called out.
