Attorney General Josh Stein has filed a brief supporting a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) order that prohibits Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, from deceptively advertising "free" tax preparation software when its services were not actually free for most consumers. The brief, filed in the case of Intuit v. Federal Trade Commission, involves a coalition of 22 attorneys general who argue that the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit should reject Intuit's appeal and uphold the FTC’s order.
"Businesses cannot deceive hard-working people to make money," said Attorney General Josh Stein. "My office previously won money back for North Carolinians who were tricked into paying for free tax services by TurboTax, but I am urging the Court to support the FTC’s effort to put an end to TurboTax’s deceptive ways once and for all."
Attorney General Stein was part of the executive committee of states investigating Intuit. In 2022, he and all 50 states along with the District of Columbia reached an agreement with TurboTax over allegations that it deceived people into paying for tax services that should have been free. In 2023, the FTC issued an order requiring Intuit to stop advertising products as “free” unless they are free to all consumers. Intuit has appealed this order and is seeking to overturn it.
In their brief, the coalition of attorneys general argues that the court should uphold the FTC’s order against Intuit.
Attorney General Josh Stein is joined in filing this brief by the Attorneys General of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.
A copy of the brief is available here.