Tax Program Develops An Insulting Approach - TurboTax installs Spyware

The Wall Street Journal ^ | Thursday, January 30, 2003 | WALTER S. MOSSBERG

[TroutStalker]

The top two software packages for tax preparation have been largely static in their core features and user interfaces for years, but you'll notice a new attitude toward customers from one of the publishers this time around.

The programs are nearly identical, and in my annual reviews of H&R Block's TaxCut and TurboTax by Intuit I have mainly noted changes in ancillary features, and in the proliferation of various editions and versions that seem inspired more by marketing than by functionality.

[octobersky]

Thanks for posting this info! Tax Cut it will be this year!

[VMI70]

Question I have: I have used TurboTax forever. Can those files be transferred to TaxCut?

[TroutStalker]

I had already purchased TurboTax, but at least you can now uninstall SafeCast. As a loyal customer Intuit, thanks a lot!

[smith288]

im thinkin' the same.

[TroutStalker]

I'm fairly sure you can transfer files. I recently switched from Quicken to MS Money and the import was flawless on eight and a half years of data.

[FR_addict]

I have been using TaxCut for many years. I almost decided to give TurboTax a try. Glad I stuck with TaxCut.

[Kryptonite]

Yes, TaxCut will transfer all your information from prior Turbo Tax files.

[VMI70]

Great--TaxCut it is--I hope the good folks at Intuit read this thread.

[TroutStalker]

I'm sure they got the message from Mossberg's WSJ column.

[jammer]

I've purchased TurboTax also, but this info appeared in Jerry Pournelle's column in Byte the day I bought it. I just took it back unopened. First time in many, many years that I won't be using TurboTax.

[blau993]

I have used TurboTax for probably close to 15 years now and will continue to do so despite Mr. Mossberg's misgivings. No tax prep software is simple. There are tricks and techniques to using this stuff, and none of the things he points out, valid though they may be, is, to me, worth the emotional cost of starting over to learn a new system. Also, my returns, though they may be more complicated than those of many taxpayers, tend to be very similar year to year. The loss of the ability to download data from last year's return (which I assume would happen if I changed systems) would be another big minus for me. I have already installed TurboTax for 2002, federal plus three states. The installation was very simple and didn't take more than a few minutes.

I do agree with his comments about the "enhanced" versions of TurboTax. I think the basic version is just fine.

[Sir Gawain]

This is old news.

[johnandrhonda]

And I recently found TurboTax Deluxe at Sam's club for a lot less than I paid buying it direct from TurboTax as a repeat customer. Really pissed me off.

[TroutStalker]

I did a search on this and didn't find any articles posted here on it.

[TroutStalker]

I have been buying from Sam's for several years now and Intuit keeps sending me emails for their higher priced copies.

[dangermouse]

When you register Taxcut, they present you with a questionairre. I let them know that I bought Taxcut only because of TurboTax's spyware.

[George W. Bush]

More spying defeated. Intuit should know better than to try it. The real pirates weren't going to fall for any lame ancient C-Dilla spy scheme anyway. Hard to believe Intuit was stupid enough to think this would go unnoticed. They've given themselves a black eye for no good reason.

[Sir Gawain]

I meant in general. WSJ is writing about a story that has been known for at least a month already in the software forums.

[TroutStalker]

If I had known about it a month ago I would have bought TaxCut.