(CNN) — Intuit, owner of TurboTax tax filing software, agreed to pay $141 million in a settlement with all 50 states for allegedly turning millions of low-income Americans away from free tax filing services.
The settlement, announced Wednesday by New York Attorney General Letitia James, said about 4.4 million customers were “unfairly charged.” Intuit is also likely to suspend its “free, free, free” advertising campaign because it misled customers with the promise of free tax preparation services, the statement added.
SEE MORE INFORMATION: Halfway to Halloween: Here are the events happening on Friday the 13th
In a statement, Intuit said it “did not admit any wrongdoing” as part of the deal and expects “minimal impact on its business” from the required changes going forward.
James’ office said his investigation came after a 2019 ProPublica report accused the company of turning eligible customers away from federally-backed tax-reporting products by making it difficult to find them in web searches — instead, targeting them. for the paid version of the company’s filing services. James said the tactic was primarily aimed at low-income consumers.
SEE MORE INFORMATION: Reward offered for information leading to arrest in the 2019 Detroit murder of 2 men
Archivers who used TurboTax’s Free Edition for fiscal years 2016 through 2018 will receive a check in the mail for approximately $30 for each year billed when they should have been able to use the free services.
“Intuit tricked millions of low-income Americans out of the free tax filing services they were entitled to,” James wrote in a press release. “For years, Intuit has tricked the most vulnerable among us into making a profit. Today, every state across the country is holding Intuit accountable for deceiving millions of taxpayers, and we are putting millions of dollars back into the pockets of affected Americans.”
The company responded in its statement that it is “clear and fair to its customers, including the nearly 100 million Americans who have filed their taxes for free with our products in the last 8 years – more than all other tax preparation software companies.” combined”.
MORE NEWS: Dakkota Integrated Systems Officially Opens This Week at the Former Site of Detroit’s Kettering High School
The-CNN-Wire™ and © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia company. All rights reserved.