"A Federal Trade Commission lawsuit is leading to changes for consumers who use H&R Block’s do-it-yourself online tax filing products. A proposed FTC settlement would stop H&R Block from unfairly requiring consumers seeking to downgrade to a cheaper H&R Block product to contact customer service, from unfairly deleting users' previously entered data and from making deceptive claims about “free” tax filing.

The tax-filing company has agreed to a proposed settlement that will require the company to make a number of changes for the 2025 tax filing season in addition to longer-term changes. The settlement would also require the company to pay $7 million to the FTC to be used to redress consumers harmed by the company’s unlawful practices.

“American taxpayers who seek tax-filing help should be able to choose the services they need—and know the truth about how much they’ll pay,” said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The FTC’s action today will help lower the stress and expense of tax season for millions of taxpayers.”

The FTC filed an administrative lawsuit against H&R Block in February 2024, charging that the company deceptively advertised that its online tax filing products were “free” when many—if not most—consumers could not actually file for free."

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/11/ftc-action-stops-hr-blocks-unfair-downgrading-practices-deceptive-promises-free-filing

#USA #FTC #TaxFilling #DeceptiveAdvertising #Taxes

Memes R Us
[meme-maker unknown]

See the flaws in this oversimplified meme and read the comment by @jrefior

#economics #education #inequality #billionaires #college #taxes #press #meme #PovertyTax

Read #VanessaWilliamson: `Since the end of the Confederacy, the cult of the “taxpayer” has provided a socially acceptable veneer for racist attacks on #democracy.` https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/the-austerity-politics-of-white-supremacy
⸺
#bipartisan #raceMaking #whiteSupremacy #whiteness #SouthCarolina #Reconstruction #histoDon #agnotology #publicOpinion #history #taxes #politics #USPol #deficit #taxpayers #Redeemers #racism #Trumpism #GOP #suffrage

Small violin klaxon:

Quoted in FT regarding tax measures in Rachel reeves' budget, specifically various inheritance tax reliefs:

'Historic Houses, which represents more than 1,000 independently owned and operated houses, castles and gardens in the UK, said its members were in effect “rural small- and medium-sized enterprises” that were “often asset rich but cash poor”.'

If I was looking to secure sympathy over tax rises, stately home owners would not be my choice of example.

#taxes #wealth

#USA #us #american #capitalism #imperialism #deepstate is #poverty for #humanity #economy #taxes #money for #criminal #government #system

The Titanic wreckage tours by #OceanGate are a stark example of how #billionaires spend money that they do not pay in #taxes. It is unconscionable that #taxpayers should bear further the burden of rescue costs. Billionaires must be made to pay every cent of the US Coast Guard effort in this completely unnecessary and offensive tragedy.

#titan