Professor Ventry Contributes Op-Ed to Sacramento Bee
Professor Dennis J. Ventry, Jr. contributed the lead article in the Sacramento Bee's October 6 Opinion section, opining that Intuit, the maker of the tax preparation software Turbo Tax, has "been doing everything in its considerable power to make [paying taxes] more difficult for hardworking Californians" by attempting to abolish ReadyReturn, California's free online service that provides taxpayers their completed tax return by using information from wage and withholding data. Its campaign has included making more than $1 milling in political contributions to ReadyReturn opponents since 2007 and spending more than $600,000 lobbying individual state legislators.
Intuit argues that the state can't afford ReadyReturn. "Intuit is wrong," Ventry writes. "ReadyReturn saves the state money, netting $80,000 annually. California's free online filing system, CalFile, nets another $440,000. Intuit wants to abolish that program, too."
Intuit also claims that ReadyReturn threatens taxpayer privacy, but the state completes a taxpayer's ReadyReturn using information already in its possession and which the taxpayer and her employer provide.
Finally, Intuit would rather have California taxpayers use Free File, software provided by private sector providers, including Intuit. But Ventry shows that Free File is inferior to both ReadyReturn and CalFile in every respect: coverage, capability, and cost.
Sacramento Bee Opinion article: "Intuit uses clout to stymie state innovation"
