Thread by @propublica

1/ Recently @Intuit CEO @Sasan_Goodarzi suggested we have a “political agenda.” His evidence? That we’ve run *many* stories on @turbotax.

There’s no agenda, but we have exposed deceptive design & misleading ads, lobbying against free simple returns + more.propub.li/2Vw0vTl

2/ We did our first story *6 yrs ago,* reporting how @TurboTax spent millions lobbying against allowing the government to estimate your taxes for you.

That’s how Spain, Denmark and other countries do it — meaning taxes there often take just minutes. propub.li/2M0e5Ps

3/ @LizDDay detailed how @intuit and @GroverNorquist were leading the charge against what’s called return-free filing. propub.li/2M0e5Ps

4/ Meanwhile, experts say return-free filing could save Americans a collective $2 billion and 225 million hours.

5/ In response, @Intuit explained to us that the company simply “participates in the political process." propub.li/2M0e5Ps

6/ A year later, we found that there was a “grassroots” letter-writing and op-ed campaign *against* return-free filing — pushed by a PR firm with connections to @Intuit.

Letters like these 👇🏽propub.li/2LPz9YQ

7/ @LizDDay approached a bunch of the people who wrote the letters — like this rabbi — and they were surprised to learn who was behind it. propub.li/2LPzaMo

8/ Intuit did not respond to our questions about what we found, but it did say it supports "taxpayer empowerment."

9/ A couple of years later, @JessicaHuseman checked in again.

Guess what she found... propub.li/2W9ntns

10/ The Free File system, which @intuit et. al. lobby for, is *supposed* to offer free filing to low-income Americans. And in return, the @IRS doesn’t compete with them.

But reporter @TikRoot noticed that many eligible Americans aren’t using #FreeFile. propub.li/2LMljpN

11/ It turns out some of the tax prep companies explicitly tell investors that the government creating its own filing system would be a “competitive threat,” @TikRoot reported.

12/ This year, we’ve found out more about why so few people use Free File.

Companies like @Intuit and @HRblock are using a variety of tactics to direct people into using the *paid* version of their products.

https://twitter.com/propublica/status/1120403954200924160

13/ Like hiding the *actual* Free File version from search engines.

(After our story published, they both stopped doing this.) propub.li/2W1ViXN

14/ We also published accounts of company insiders who said Intuit deliberately uses the word “free” in advertisements and then pushes people to paid products. propub.li/2LRSbxJ

15/ We also obtained this audio file in which the company lies to folks who call for a refund. propub.li/2Wa4Dg7

16/ This isn’t a dry policy issue — it affects real Americans in very real ways. So we asked you what it meant to spend money on taxes that you didn’t have to. Here are *your* stories 👇🏽👇🏽

17/

-“Those $200 would have helped us pay for rent”
-“I ended up paying $103.95 (almost my entire refund)”
-“I am a graduate student and made <$10,000 in income” propub.li/2LPlBfH

18/ TurboTax’s spokesperson didn’t answer our q's about that. They noted that they “donated 2.3 million federal and state returns ($27 million in value) to lower-income taxpayers.”

*Tens of millions* people are actually eligible for Free File TurboTax. propub.li/2M4DMOT

19/ OK, so here’s where things stand:

A bill making the Free File deal permanent — including its restriction on the government creating its own online tax filing system — passed in the House last month.

It’s called the “Taxpayer First Act.” propub.li/2WcBP6D

20/ An outcry followed our story, and in response the bill has stalled after several senators balked.

propub.li/2LMm56b

21/ What’s next? @SenWarren and others called for refunds for people who were overcharged and investigations of @Intuit and @HRBlock.

propub.li/2LQP6Oo

22/ @CityAttorneyLA sued the companies, and multiple private lawsuits were filed.

Intuit said: “We stand behind our actions.”
And H&R Block said it’s “proud to have helped millions of Americans.”

propub.li/2Wa4Dg7

23/ Meanwhile, after a call for an investigation by @NYGovCuomo, the New York Dept. of Financial Services issued subpoenas to the companies. (Intuit and H&R Block said they’re cooperating.)
propub.li/2W8WMPU

24/ Yesterday, we published our latest: how TurboTax tricked servicemembers into paying to file their taxes with a “military discount” propub.li/30BEtSM

25/ We're going to keep following this story. There’s two ways you can help:

Were you or someone you know affected by this issue? Fill out our questionnaire:
propub.li/2W4whex

Or have you worked at Intuit or another company? Please get in touch.
propub.li/2W4BUt9

26/ Want to keep up? Sign up for our Big Story newsletter 👉🏽propub.li/2W7MRdf

27/ Want to see the full video from the CEO? Here it is: