The settlement, announced Wednesday by New York Attorney General Letitia James, said about 4.4 million customers were “unfairly charged.” Intuit must also suspend its “free, free, free” advertising campaign because it falsely lured customers with the promise of free tax preparation services, the statement added.
Filers who used the free edition of TurboTax for the 2016 to 2018 tax years will receive a check in the mail for approximately $30 for each year they were charged when they should have been able to use the services free.
“Intuit tricked millions of low-income Americans into the free tax filing services they were entitled to,” James wrote in a press release. “For years, Intuit has cheated the most vulnerable among us for profit. Today, every state in the country holds Intuit accountable for defrauding millions of taxpayers, and we’re putting millions back in their pockets. Americans affected.”
The company responded in its statement that it was “clear and fair with its customers, including the nearly 100 million Americans who have filed their taxes for free with our products over the past 8 years – more than all other combined tax preparation software companies”.
