What's the gps argument? That intuit lobbies? In 2024 that amount was ~$3.8m.
Even if 100% of that is to make taxes complicated. Is their lobby somehow driving the complicated tax code and if we just tell them "cut it out" or have the government spin up its own TurboTax, something that other private companies have not been able to do successfully at scale, it'll somehow stop?
I don't get the point other than people don't like paying for stuff they think should be free. But my point is there is a real cost to helping people fill out their taxes, and I'd prefer that's done on the private side as government isn't historically good running at running tech companies. Either way you pay, just one you have a choice and it's explicit how much it costs and the other is another murky inefficient government run agency.
The argument is that Intuit engages in corrupt practices to boost their profits at the expense of american taxpayers' time and money, by complicating tax code and limiting the development of government-funded solutions. Your comparison to other forms of lobbying doesn't change that, and neither does sowing doubt about the efficacy of said lobbying; these practices are unethical and wrong regardless of your ideologically-motivated justifications.
Even if 100% of that is to make taxes complicated. Is their lobby somehow driving the complicated tax code and if we just tell them "cut it out" or have the government spin up its own TurboTax, something that other private companies have not been able to do successfully at scale, it'll somehow stop?
I don't get the point other than people don't like paying for stuff they think should be free. But my point is there is a real cost to helping people fill out their taxes, and I'd prefer that's done on the private side as government isn't historically good running at running tech companies. Either way you pay, just one you have a choice and it's explicit how much it costs and the other is another murky inefficient government run agency.
https://substack.perfectunion.us/p/turbotaxs-intuit-spent-re...