FTC sues TurboTax

The US Government is suing Intuit, owner of the widely used tax filing system TurboTax. The government is alleging that TurboTax is lying to customers by claiming the product is free and then diverting them toward paid services and products. 

The Federal Trade Commission has filed a complaint in the Northern District of California asking the court for an emergency motion to halt TurboTax ads. Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection said in a statement "TurboTax is bombarding consumers with ads for 'free' tax filing services, and then hitting them with charges when its time to file." "We are asking a court to immediately halt this bait and switch and to protect taxpayers at the peak of the filing season." In the court filings, FTC alleged that "TurboTax should be put on hold to avoid victimizing customers." and that the company's marketing violated federal laws on deceptive and false advertising. Intuit, on the other hand, denied that they have deceived their customers, in a blog post it specified following all IRS protocols for free filing programs and called the FTC's lawsuit "simply not credible".

TurboTax is one of the most widely used tax filing programs in America, used by two-thirds of tax filers according to the latest estimates. 

Source: CBS News