For those keeping score at home for "How Insecure Can Tax Professionals Be?", this just in from the Left Coast:

CSEA Responds to Intuit TurboTax Ad Campaign

CSEA is joining NAEA, NATP, and other organizations in expressing our disappointment with Intuit for the disrespectful message expressed in their advertising campaign that encourages people to break up with their tax preparers and switch to a “Turbo-Tax Expert.”

Advertising often seeks to oversimplify buying decisions. This campaign has plenty of legalese and fine print to warn consumers that this is not as simple as it seems. However, we believe the statement “charges me less but gives me more” is misleading and should be reviewed by the Federal Trade Commission, which has played an important role in regulating ad claims made by tax resolution companies.

We all know the ways that this campaign is wrong and insulting. But considering that many of us support Intuit directly as customers of their various pro-level products, this advertising strategy is doubly insulting.

CSEA is calling on Intuit to pull this ad campaign. Surely their marketing team can come up with ways to creatively promote their services without alienating and harming the tax community.

It is ironic that this campaign tacitly acknowledges that Intuit’s self-service tax software doesn’t meet everyone’s needs. We trust that people who have experience with professional tax preparers won’t be fooled by these ads. However, this campaign may cause questions from your clients, leaving you to defend your pricing and practices.

To support our members, in the coming months CSEA will provide tools such as wording you can use in your annual client outreach, to help negate the impact of these ads. We will include these tools in the annual client tax newsletter template, which is a free benefit for all CSEA members.

Thank you for your time and attention during these busy days. You can rely on CSEA to look out for your best interest while you are focused on meeting the October 15 deadline.

Sincerely,Theresa Gordon, EA

President

California Society of Enrolled Agents