Also on today’s menu:
TurboTax Settlement
Executive Council Approves InvestNH
Sigmund Boganski, 77, of New Hampton, New Hampshire, and Buckeye, Arizona, forfeited his right to vote in New Hampshire by voting in both states during the 2016 general election. Boganski pleaded guilty to the Class B felony in Belknap County Superior Court on May 4.
Boganski cast a ballot in New Hampton while also casting an absentee ballot in Arizona in the same election.
He received a suspended 90-day sentence to the Belknap County Department of Corrections jail on the condition of two years’ good behavior, as well as a $1,000 fine with a $240 penalty assessment.
TurboTax Settlement
New Hampshire Attorney General John M. Formella has secured $683,522 from Intuit, the owner of TurboTax software, for deceiving consumers into paying for tax services that should have been free. In all, Intuit will pay $141 million in restitution to millions of consumers across the nation who were unfairly charged.
Intuit also agreed to suspend TurboTax’s “free, free, free” ad campaign that lured customers with promises of free tax preparation services, then deceived them into paying for services. All 50 states and the District of Columbia have signed onto the agreement.
“Today's settlement agreement with TurboTax Owner Intuit is an important victory for the many Granite State taxpayers who were deceived by TurboTax,” said Formella. “Taking advantage of low-income New Hampshire residents and convincing them to pay for free tax services is unfair, unethical, and a business practice that will not be tolerated in New Hampshire. Paying taxes is hard enough, so people should not also have to worry about being deceived by their tax preparers.”
The investigation into Intuit began after ProPublica reported that the company was using deceptive digital tactics to steer low-income consumers toward its commercial products and away from federally supported free tax services.
Executive Council Approves InvestNH
The Executive Council has voted, 4-1, to support InvestNH, Governor Chris Sununu’s housing initiative to provide $100 million in federal funding to quickly build low- to moderate-rental housing. Republican Councilor David Wheeler of Milford cast the lone dissenting vote.
Taylor Caswell, commissioner of the Office of Business and Economic Affairs, says New Hampshire’s low-income rental availability rate is about 0.7 percent.
The Joint Legislative Fiscal Committee has approved the use of $100 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds for the initiative.
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