
The Accountant Shortage is So Bad Anime Waifu Girlfriends Are Taking Up Tax Prep Now
TW: TurboTax bashing Before you get all bent out of shape over an anime dating sim that asks for your Social Security number for the purposes of helping you complete your federal tax return, know two things: Steam yeeted the game you’re about to see off the platform in a mere 24 hours and Tax […]

Here’s the Extended Version of the Horrible TurboTax Ad You’ll See During the Super Bowl
$5.6 million. That’s how much it costs for a 30-second advertisement to air on Fox during the Super Bowl this Sunday. But that ad time cost is chump change for Intuit, maker of TurboTax and staunch proponent of charging millions of customers for tax filing services they should’ve gotten for free. Intuit will be airing […]
TurboTax Got Hacked Because of Course They Did
In the 21st century there are three things that you just have to deal with: You don’t have any privacy. Your personal information is going to get hacked, and Dick pics are a thing. Ergo, TurboTax getting hacked: not a big deal. A high school student hacking into the DoD’s Defense Threat Redundancy Agency: that […]
Woman’s Absurdly Unsophisticated Tax Scheme Still Managed to Dupe The Oregon Department of Revenue
As we've witnessed, perpetrators of tax fraud oftentimes utilize very simple methods. Slapping a dead person's name, birthdate, social security number, isn't terribly difficult once the data is obtained; throw some minors on there as dependents and you've got yourself a nice little refund at the expense of some grieving family members. Not complicated. You […]
Is There a “Ponzi Scheme” Button in Turbo Tax For Convenience Purposes?
File this under "serious tax questions" posed to the Intuit community: Back in 2007 I invested $80,000 into a company for Real Estate develeopment. No property was involved just a written contract. After 5 years and an FBI investigation I have come to the realization that the money is not recoverable. Where in Turbo Tax […]
One Man’s Holiday Wish List Includes Tim Geithner and Charlie Rangel Sharing a Prison Cell with Wesley Snipes
Actually, if Wes Benedict, Executive Director of the Libertarian Party, had his way, Wes wouldn’t be doing time at all.
“The three-year federal prison sentence for Snipes’s failure to file tax returns is absurd. Snipes is not a threat to anyone, and the judge who sentenced him clearly just wanted to scare others who might think about resisting federal taxes.
“Maybe it’s worth reminding people that Wesley Snipes was acquitted of tax fraud and conspiracy charges in 2008. He was only found guilty on misdemeanor charges of ‘willful failure to file an income tax return.’
Right, so the ‘willful failure’ part is where we kind of have a problem. If you willfully fail to control your urge to get cop-slugging drunk and then actually slug a cop, you have committed a crime. Mr Benedict doesn’t buy it though:
“Why is a failure to file a tax return a criminal non-act? Should people ever be sent to prison for not doing something? If the IRS wants to come after Snipes and take his money, they have power to do that. Who does it help to send the man to prison?
“The tax code is incredibly vague and open to interpretation [Ed note: UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE CENTURY]. In fact, the ‘law’ is largely written by IRS bureaucrats. If they decide the law says one thing, you’re OK; if they decide it’s something else, then you’re headed for prison.
“The federal tax code also allows for ‘selective enforcement,’ to put it mildly. Why is it that Wesley Snipes gets a prison sentence, but known tax cheat Tim Geithner gets promoted to Secretary of the Treasury? Maybe Tim should be Wesley’s cellmate. Throw tax cheat politician Charlie Rangel in the slammer too for good measure.
Tim Geithner’s poor choice in self-prep tax software and an actor giving the 16th Amendment the middle finger for 10+ years aren’t quite the same thing. Maybe it’s just us.
[h/t Tracy Coenen]
For the Last Time, Only Tim Geithner Can Blame TurboTax and Get Away with It
Seriously people. We thought that the fog of confusion around this issue had been lifted. We’ll go over it again for those of you just joining us.
If you are not a well-connected bureaucrat with a fabulous coif, you are not afforded the same privileges as though who are/do.
And tax court debunks the latest attempt to draw some likeness between a regular schmo and T Geith:
We shall address briefly petitioner’s contention that the IRS granted “favorable treatment” in a case involving U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, which petitioner described as “incredibly similar” to the instant case. According to petitioner, “there should not be different, or favorable rules for the well-connected”. The record in this case does not establish any facts relating to the case to which petitioner refers involving U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner. In any event, those facts would be irrelevant to our resolution of the issue presented here. Regardless of the facts and circumstances relating to the case to which petitioner refers involving U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, petitioner is required to establish on the basis of the facts and circumstances that are established by the record in his own case that there was reasonable cause for, and that he acted in good faith with respect to, the underpayment for each of his taxable years 2005 and 2006 that is attributable to his failure to report self-employment tax.
Accounting News Roundup: Lehman Unsecured Creditors Want Ernst & Young Docs; Court Doesn’t Allow “Geithner Defense” for Non-Geithner Taxpayer; Contenders for the Head of Deloitte UK Shape Up | 04.20.10
Lehman unsecured creditors seek probe Ernst & Young [Reuters]
The unsecured creditors of Lehman are justifiably nervous about getting anything bank in the wake of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy. The next best plan of attack, as you might of expect is poke around E&Y to see what they’ve got laying around. Of course Ernst & Young won’t just turn over “certain documents” and make “its employees and partners submit to an oral examination” so the creditors are asking the bankruptcy court to order them to do so.
Tax Court Rejects “Geithner Defense,” Says Reliance on TurboTax Does Not Excuse Taxpayer From Penalty for Errors on Tax Return [TaxProf]
Please note for any of you that will try to pull that excuse:
“Although the Court concludes the errors in petitioners’ tax preparation were made in good faith, petitioners have not established that they behaved in a manner consistent with that of a prudent person. Before the trial petitioners stipulated that they did not consult a tax professional or visit the IRS’ Web site for instructions on filing the Schedule C.
We do not accept petitioners’ misuse of TurboTax, even if unintentional or accidental, as a defense to the penalties on the basis of the facts presented.”
Contenders shape up to replace John Connolly – Deloitte’s big hitter [Times Online]
The head spot for Deloitte in the UK will be up for grabs next year as John Connolly will step down after ten years at the helm. The Times Online reports that even though two candidates have been identified by sources, no campaigning will be allowed, “Mr Connolly conceded that the issue of succession was “in the air” but said that the firm wanted to avoid open competition between potential successors. “We don’t allow people to go around the country calling meetings and giving presentations about why they will be a great leader,” he said.”
TurboTax’s Bob Meighan: There’s No Sense in Panicking About the April 15th Deadline
With a little more than just 24 hours to go until the end of the traditional filing season for 2010, some taxpayers might be freaking out. To help prevent this we got the chance to speak with Bob Meighan, TurboTax VP and CPA yesterday morning about what to do with just a few short hours away from the deadline, what taxpayers have been struggling with this filing season and if he had any special advice for a certain customer:
And that extension form you need? It’s Form 4868. Even if your preparer got nabbed in Operation Brass Tax, just make it easy on yourself and file the extension (we did). You’ll feel better.