Why does doing taxes suck so much? Because Capitalism!

Over the past 20 years, the lovable dweebs at the IRS have been on a quest to make filing personal taxes free and easy. They say America should be like other countries, where the government sends you a pre-filled tax return and all you have to do is sign-off. Seems like a no-brainer, right? Like what kind of deranged psychopath wouldn’t want that? 

Enter Intuit, maker of tax preparation software Turbo Tax, and their disgruntled band of lobbyists. Their entire business model depends on you being afraid to screw up your taxes. So they bribe lawmakers to over-complicate tax laws, threaten the government into underfunding the IRS, and run dubious misinformation campaigns alleging that free tax filing is somehow… racist? 

The nefarious knuckleheads at Intuit would have gotten away with it too if it weren’t for the determined efforts of Propublica journalists. They joined forces with the unlikely heroes at the IRS, and from a muggy basement office in Washington they stood up to Big Tax and won. 

We <3 the IRS and you will too after this episode! 

Support the pod 

Pics on our substack

Links: 

How Intuit Reinvents Itself (Fortune)

The TurboTax Trap (ProPublica Investigation series)

IRS makes free tax return program permanent and is asking all states to join in 2025