The information you provide to your tax preparer is as sensitive as it gets. The assumption is that the tax preparation company is only using your data to prepare your taxes. In an enforcement action against Beneficial Corp., the FTC alleged that the company was engaged in unfair and deceptive practices by “using information collected for tax preparation services for unrelated loan solicitation purposes,” and ordered the company to stop that practice. The FTC recently sent notices to five tax preparation companies that they, too, could face civil penalties if they are using the same practices that landed Beneficial Corp. in the FTC’s crosshairs.
