Intuit Overhauls Lobbying Roster Following IRS Direct File Announcement

The TurboTax owner dropped its lobbying contracts with six D.C. firms after the IRS announced a free tax filing pilot program and brought on 21 new lobbyists.

Intuit Overhauls Lobbying Roster Following IRS Direct File Announcement
(Intuit TurboTax, by Focal Foto on Flickr)

Following the Internal Revenue Service’s announcement that it will create a free, electronic tax-filing system for individual taxpayers, tax prep giant Intuit has shuffled its roster of lobbyists. 

Since Sept. 1, Intuit, the owner of TurboTax, has hired 21 new lobbyists from five D.C. firms. Almost all of its new lobbyists—20 of the 21—went through the so-called “revolving door” from positions in government, according to their Senate registration forms. The hirings came after the firm terminated its lobbying contracts with six D.C. firms in August and September, according to Senate disclosures.

In May, the Internal Revenue Service announced that it would create a Direct File pilot program, something that Intuit and the for-profit tax prep industry had been vehemently opposed to in their lobbying.