More than 71,000 Oregonians to receive money

Published 6:15 am Thursday, May 5, 2022

SALEM — As part of a countrywide settlement, Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum secured $2.1 million for Oregon from TurboTax, Intuit Inc., for deceiving over 4.6 million consumers nationally into paying for tax services that should have been free.

In Oregon, Intuit will send out checks to 71,230 Oregonians for $29.64 in restitution each. Impacted consumers will automatically receive notices and a check by mail.

As part of the settlement, Intuit must suspend TurboTax’s “free, free, free” ad campaign that lured customers with promises of free tax preparation services, only to deceive them into paying for services. All 50 states and the District of Columbia have signed onto the agreement.

An investigation into Intuit began after ProPublica reported that the company was using deceptive digital tactics to steer low-income consumers toward its commercial products and away from federally-supported free tax services.