D.C. AG calls for continuance of FTC ban on ‘deceptive’ TurboTax ads

By Megan SaylesAFRO Business Writermsayles@afro.com In January, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) delivered an opinion and final order prohibiting Intuit, parent company to TurboTax, from advertising its services as “free” unless they are free to all customers, or if stipulations are clearly communicated. The directive came after an investigation into deceptive advertising claims against the global financial technology company.& D.C. Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul are calling for support of a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ban on misleading advertising from Intuit, which owns TurboTax. Intuit is in the process of appealing the FTC’s opinion. (Photos courtesy of D.C. Attorney General and courtesy of cookcountydems.co)Intuit has since appealed the FTC ruling in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. In response, D.C. Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, alongside 22 state attorneys general, filed a brief calling for the appeal to be rejected on June 24.& “Intuit misled taxpayers in D.C. and across the country with ads falsely claiming TurboTax was free,” said Schwalb in a statement. “Preying upon low-income taxpayers and military families who were eligible to file their taxes at no cost, Intuit pocketed millions of...