User profile for user: lobstershark
lobstershark Author
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TURBOTAX 2014 CD DOES NOT PERMIT OFFLINE PRINT OR SAVE TO PDF. YOU CAN ONLY SAVE TO PDF OR PRINT IF ONLINE. BIG SECURITY ISSUE. INTUIT IN WSJ ARTICLE BLAMES APPLE, SAYING APP STORE SOFTWARE RESULTED IN THIS. TRUE?

Starting this year, Turbotax CD/download versions will not permit people to print tax forms when offline. If you try to print while not connected to the Internet, you receive the warning “There was a problem connecting to Intuit’s Secure Print Service. Please check your Internet connection or try again later.” Indeed, Paragraph 9 of the Intuit Software End User License Agreement states: "You may save your return as a PDF file and understand it may be processed on Intuit servers, not as part of the Software."


Even if you wish to protect your data by not exposing it to the Internet, Turbotax will not let you without sharing your entire return first with them. They prohibit you from only printing locally on home, cable-connected printers.


The result of this is that people who tried to be safe by never going online with tax data, are this year being forced by Intuit software to expose all their sensitive tax information files to the Internet and Intuit print server, even though they do not wish to. Turbotax is putting you at risk.


On Feb 19 the Wall Street Journal quoted an Intuit spokesperson blaming Apple: According to Julie Miller, an Intuit spokeswoman, TurboTax made the change “because the Mac product requires a special, third-party code library to support offline printing.” And she says, “based on Apple App Store guidelines, we could no longer distribute the third-party library with our software.” She said the change in the TurboTax Mac software was first made for 2013 tax returns, but last year customers had the option of printing returns without being connected to the Internet.


So is Apple to blame that I now have to expose my sensitive tax data to Intuit just to be allowed to save to PDF on my hard disk? And it's all Apple's fault?


Can anyone clarify this?

MacBook Pro (13-inch Early 2011), OS X Yosemite (10.10.2)

Posted on Feb 20, 2015 8:26 AM

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31 replies
User profile for user: lobstershark
lobstershark Author
User level: Level 1
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Feb 20, 2015 5:43 PM in response to Yer_Man

True, but there is major Forbes article today blaming Apple for not letting Turbotax users print or save to PDF without first sending their tax returns to Intuit. It doesn't seem to make sense. I have never come across similar software. Think about it, you have to give up your tax return to Intuit just to print your returns for your own records. I would hope that Apple will respond to Intuit's charges and clarify this. This is a slippery slope with big security implications for people who pay taxes. I know of no other way than here to try to catch someone's attention at Apple. Welcome any suggestions. Perhaps people just don't care about data security.

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User profile for user: Barney-15E
Barney-15E
User level: Level 10
122,336 points

Feb 20, 2015 9:30 PM in response to lobstershark

lobstershark wrote:


True, but there is major Forbes article today blaming Apple for not letting Turbotax users print or save to PDF without first sending their tax returns to Intuit. It doesn't seem to make sense.

The reason is explained in the Forbes article. For security, Apple doesn't approve apps that use third-party code. Intuit needs to write the code themselves. Since they are apparently unable to write the code to allow you to print it "offline," you must use the method they did code.

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User profile for user: lobstershark
lobstershark Author
User level: Level 1
0 points

Feb 23, 2015 2:43 PM in response to Barney-15E

Thank you for this an the other posts. Particularly for Barney,


I have just discovered that Turbotax actually permits you to print (and save to PDF) documents from the Help

Center built into the program, even when you are OFFLINE. Works just like normal printing is supposed to. It just won't let you print actual tax forms. So I guess they were willing to violate Apple’s rules when you print information from their help center offline, but you just can't do the same with your own tax forms. Clearly this shows that what Intuit told Forbes was a fabrication.


They do in fact have the proper code in the program for printing and saving to PDF. They just deny you usage of that code for printing your tax returns, which they want to copy. I don’t think there can be any doubt about what they are doing. Surely they are not deceiving apple by allowing the limited print function?

We can only hope that a brave journalist will challenge them on this, since Intuit will not respond to customers.

Thank you for any views on this points.

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User profile for user: essandess
essandess
User level: Level 1
41 points

Mar 7, 2015 2:59 PM in response to lobstershark

According to Julie Miller, an Intuit spokeswoman, TurboTax made the change “because the Mac product requires a special, third-party code library to support offline printing.” And she says, “based on Apple App Store guidelines, we could no longer distribute the third-party library with our software.”



This explanation is transparent nonsense. I purchased a copy of Turbotax from Amazon, not the App Store, and my non-App Store EULA clearly states in Chapter 9 that Intuit uploads your sensitive, private financial information to Intuit's servers:


"You may save your return as a PDF file and understand it may be processed on Intuit servers, not as part of the Software."


Intuit's servers are widely reported to be insecure and there is an ongoing FBI investigation of tax fraud related to Intuit filings.


Intuit's policy is dangerously insecure and irresponsible, and breaches my trust of their company.

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User profile for user: tbirdvet
tbirdvet
User level: Level 6
17,138 points

Mar 7, 2015 5:17 PM in response to lobstershark

I just now loaded the software and I see that to save with a password you need to connect to the Intuit site. Last year i would save on my Mac. Even if I save without a password it wants to check for updates and if it cannot connect to the Intuit server it shuts down. This is a very poor design. I should be able to work offline and print out the return for mailing.

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User profile for user: LuvMyMac15
LuvMyMac15
User level: Level 1
0 points

Mar 13, 2015 9:40 PM in response to lobstershark

I totally understand your frustration!


NEVER AGAIN will I buy the TurboTax product. Why would TurboTax require us to connect to the internet through their servers to print our returns? Aren't our returns between us and the IRS. Who do they think they are? I am NOT sharing my tax information with TurboTax SERVERS just to print my return. I am going to the post office and getting the paperwork to file my return the old fashioned way. Why? Because I can't export my return as a PDF file to print it outside their crappy software NOR can I print my return to MAIL it to the IRS. I am going to attempt to return the software to the store. At the very least I will give the people at the store heads up about how this company treats those who purchase their software. I called TurboTax for help. The customer service agent at TurboTax played it off as if this was the first time she had heard of this problem.. After I realized they would not help me with the issue and got off the phone, I saw that so many other people have posted on the internet about the same issue. As the person who posted below wrote, you can print help topics and so on with their software, just not your return. WHY? TurboTax and INTUIT have lost all credibility with me.


And for TurboTax or Intuit to come out and blame Apple. WOW. That is just wrong. I am absolutely DISGUSTED with INTUIT and TurboTax.

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User profile for user: mcnova
mcnova
User level: Level 1
0 points

Mar 31, 2015 3:32 PM in response to lobstershark

Re: [Intuit] made the change “because the Mac product requires a special, third-party code library to support offline printing..."

This is a lie. The app's Help Center can bring up documentation that prints just fine with no Internet connection. If that works then printing or PDF-saving of tax returns would work too. This is not a technical issue. Intuit did this to scrape a copy of everyone's return.

Not only will I not use any Intuit product again I'm currently exploring whether or not https://www.taxact.com/ can import this year's return.

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TURBOTAX 2014 CD DOES NOT PERMIT OFFLINE PRINT OR SAVE TO PDF. YOU CAN ONLY SAVE TO PDF OR PRINT IF ONLINE. BIG SECURITY ISSUE. INTUIT IN WSJ ARTICLE BLAMES APPLE, SAYING APP STORE SOFTWARE RESULTED IN THIS. TRUE?

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