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The stock prices for H&R Block and Intuit fell after a report Tuesday said Trump’s government efficiency team is considering making a free tax-filing app.
Intuit, which makes the TurboTax tax-filing software, closed down 5%, marking its worst day since Aug. 23 when the stock price fell nearly 7%. H&R Block, meanwhile, closed down 8% and had its worst day since 2020.
President-elect Donald Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency” has held “highly preliminary” discussions about creating the free tax-filing app, The Washington Post reported. The so-called DOGE is not going to be an official government department but an out of doors advisory commission. It can be led by billionaire Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and goals to slash government spending.
A DOGE tax-filing app could be a competitor of each H&R Block and TurboTax.
Intuit spokeswoman Tania Mercado didn’t directly address the prospect of a government tax-filing app, but told CNBC in a press release that, “For many years, Intuit has publicly called for simplifying the U.S. tax code so individuals, families, and small businesses can higher understand their funds.”
George Agurkis, H&R Block’s director of presidency relations, said in an email that the corporate looks forward “to engaging with the brand new Administration and the Department of Government Efficiency on their ideas related to sound and efficient tax administration.”
It’s unclear where a latest DOGE tax app would bridge with newer policies the Biden administration already implemented. Under the Biden administration, the IRS in March rolled out a pilot Direct File program in 12 states, allowing qualified taxpayers to file directly through a government portal. The IRS also offers free filing services through its Free File program for taxpayers who make an adjusted gross income of $79,000 or less.Â
While each Intuit and H&R Block have free filing options, neither have had stellar records relating to transparently offering those services.Â
The Federal Trade Commission in February filed an administrative grievance against H&R Block for deceptively marketing free filing products and wrongfully deleting users’ in-progress tax data. Intuit, meanwhile, agreed to pay $141 million in restitution “for deceiving hundreds of thousands of low-income Americans into paying for tax services that ought to have been free,” in accordance with the office of Latest York Attorney General Letitia James.
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