Ryan urges FTC, IRS to probe tax preparation companies

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan urged the Federal Trade Commission and IRS to investigate tax preparation companies who allegedly abused and manipulated the free file program.

ProPublica reported that two of the largest free file providers – TurboTax and H&R Block – inserted code into their free file websites that prevented them from appearing in online search results.

Instead, taxpayers who would have been eligible for the free file program were pushed to these companies’ paid tax preparation products. A further review into this matter found three other free file members using similar code: TaxSlayer, FreeTaxUSA, and 1040.com.

“It’s outrageous that tax preparation companies are deliberately conning eligible consumers by hiding free tax preparation services from online searches. It’s deceitful, anti-competitive, and just plain wrong,” said Ryan of Howland, D-13th. “This is yet another example of companies rigging the system to put profits over people. We need to put a stop to this scam today and hold these companies accountable.”