TurboTax, H&R Block hid free filing option from Google so customers couldn’t find it

TurboTax and H&R Block deliberately hid their free tax filing options from Google results which forced many low-income tax filers to pay for expensive, unnecessary tax filing.

Intuit, the company that operates TurboTax, accomplished this by adding code to its free filing site that essentially told Google and other search engines to not list the site in search results.

The code needs to be added manually, Pro Publica reports.

“Intuit’s tactics to reduce access to the Free File program and confuse taxpayers are outrageous,” Senator Ron Wyden said in a statement.

Intuit, H&R Block, and other tax-prep companies created free filing software in exchange for the IRS not creating their own version. However, while 70% of tax filers are eligible for free filing, only about 3% use those services.

Around 60% of tax filers use Intuit software.

https://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny-news-turbotax-hides-free-file-option-from-google-low-income-filers-20190428-wsne3lxtfvah3c5nbyuv6hqcaa-story.html

Boom Bust host Commissioner Bart Chilton dies at age 58

With great sorrow, we announce that our beloved colleague Bart Chilton has passed away after a sudden illness.

Our friend Bart brought a unique combination of passion for business and extensive experience in the sphere of finance to his role as host of signature financial show, Boom Bust, elevating the content and profile to a new level, making it one of the most popular programs on RT America.

His trademark show opening, “Let’s go!” was a perfect expression of his enthusiasm and drive to constantly do more, and learn more.

His friends and colleague knew him as an overachiever. Prior to his TV career, Bart Chilton was Commissioner at the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission from 2007 to 2014. At the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, he headed the Energy and Environmental Advisory Committee and the Global Markets Advisory Committee. He has served on multiple local, federal and presidential campaigns, the Obama presidential transition team, and in the US House, Senate, and Executive branch. His subject matter expertise spanned from politics and policy – specifically US and global financial markets, agricultural, energy and the environment, and transportation – to music, movies, and pop culture. Commissioner Chilton was known for his individualistic approach to financial regulation, his myriad media appearances, speeches, and frequent opinion editorials. From 1995 to 2001, Commissioner Chilton was a political appointee of President Bill Clinton, rising to Deputy Chief of Staff to US Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman.

https://www.rt.com/usa/457729-bart-chilton-commissioner-dies/