taxes

Intuit backtracks on new TurboTax fees

In response to a customer revolt on the Internet, Intuit has decided to eliminate fees it introduced with TurboTax 2008 that would charge users for preparing multiple returns.

The maker of the popular tax-preparation program announced Thursday that it would drop the $9.95 fee it introduced with this year's release, while still maintaining free e-filing for its customers.

"We're responding to changing market conditions and customer feedback," Dan Maurer, general manager of Intuit's consumer division, said in a statement. "We believe this better positions TurboTax in the marketplace with an even stronger value … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 868: Joogle and the Spindle

We rename Google's boring-sounding Native Client project to let you know what it really is: Java from Google. You know, Joogle. Also, HP unveils flexible paper using e-ink and a roller design that inspires version 3 of the Kindle: the Spindle. In non-funny-word related news, we also engage in a nice long conversation about music piracy and college campuses. Feels just like old times. Listen now: Download today's podcast Episode 868

The mouse hits 40-year milestone http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7768481.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7761262.stm http://news.cnet.com/2300-1041_3-6248261.html… Read more

Which tax-prep service is right for you?

A correction was made to this story. Read below for details.

The prices for Intuit TurboTax and H&R Block TaxCut have shifted significantly, making it tough to tell how much you'll actually pay to file 2008 returns using their software or online services.

Among the good news is that both brands now offer free federal electronic filing, which has cost up to an additional $20 in the past. But some users of the market-leading TurboTax desktop software are venting bitterly on online forums about Intuit's new charge of $9.95 for each federal return prepared beyond … Read more

Amazon reviewers slam TurboTax fee changes

Updated December 8 at 9 p.m. with Inuit comment.

Revisions incorporated into Intuit's TurboTax 2008 have led to a bit of a tax revolt by reviewers on Amazon.com.

The tax preparation program, which is a top seller at the online retailer, has garnered an Amazon customer rating of one and a half stars out of five. As of Sunday afternoon, an overwhelming 82 reviewers (out of 90) gave the program the minimum one star, compared with four reviewers who gave it the full five-star rating.

However, it's not the features nor functionality with which the majority … Read more

Taxing music at the ISP level: Good idea or bad?

Warner Music Group has a proposition for U.S. universities, according to Techdirt: buy a blanket license to music downloads through file-sharing services, or be sued.

Techdirt thinks that this is a bad idea, and I disagree.

Techdirt's criticisms are clear:

It's basically a music tax--allowing the record industry to be lazy. Someone else gets to go out and collect all this money, and hand it over to the industry to distribute (or, actually, not distribute). It effectively sets the business model of the recording industry in stone, and harms better, more innovative business models by inserting the … Read more

Death and taxes in virtual worlds

I wrote previously about China's attempt to tax virtual goods and currency, and now the BBC reports that Sweden and South Korea have also moved to clarify the tax rules for virtual money.

In April 2008 Sweden's tax office published a clarification to its tax laws which said that in-game transactions are taxable--in theory. I am sure Ben Franklin was referring to Linden dollars when he wrote, "In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."

The taxation subject seems to be more a case of what happens when virtual money … Read more

Bailout plan bails out clean-energy sector

The massive U.S. financial bailout plan, signed into law Friday afternoon, renews existing tax credits for renewable energy and includes rebates for plug-in hybrid drivers.

Representatives from the wind and solar industries have lobbied for months to extend the credits to ensure continued growth. Without the supports in place, they warned business would stall, resulting in thousands of lost jobs.

In addition to the renewable energy "extenders," the law boosts subsidies to invest in non-conventional fossil fuels--so-called dirty fuels, such as making liquid fuel from coal or sand and rock. Also included are breaks to develop technologies … Read more

Newegg reverses practice of charging New York sales tax

Online electronics retailer Newegg has stopped charging sales tax to its New York customers, according to a posting on the Consumerist.com.

The move by Newegg reverses action the online retailer took in June, in which it began to charge applicable sales tax for all shipments to New York, following passage of a new state law that required certain companies to charge sales tax on shipments to New York state.

Effective August 21, however, Newegg discontinued the practice and is leaving it up to New York residents to pay that sales tax themselves. That policy basically returns the responsibility of … Read more

States may tax iTunes, other digital downloads

If you enjoy buying music from iTunes, movies from Amazon.com's Unbox, or computer software from anywhere, be warned: the halcyon days of tax-free digital purchases may be over.

With retail e-commerce sales now estimated to exceed $130 billion a year, and iTunes song purchases topping 5 billion, state politicians and tax collectors have begun to levy new fees on digital downloads.

Call it the iTax. In 2008 alone, at least nine states have considered digital download taxes, and at least five of those states have enacted them into law. Nebraska's governor signed a digital download tax bill … Read more