Week in Insights: Keeping Tax Prep Competitive Is a Balancing Act

Curated by Daniel Xu

Intuit Inc., maker of TurboTax, stepped up its lobbying game ahead of the tax season—spending $3.8 million in 2023. Similarly, H&R Block spent more than $3 million on lobbying last year. The tax prep company boogeyman everyone is lobbying against is the IRS Direct File program, which went live for 12 states this year.

Intuit sought $94 million in research and development tax credits in 2022, which means taxpayer funds are being used to lobby against a taxpayer service. This situation illustrates a broader debate about the role of private ...