Paul Kiel
Paul Kiel covers business and consumer finance for ProPublica.
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Paul Kiel covers business and consumer finance for ProPublica.
In recent years, he’s focused on the U.S. tax system. The Secret IRS Files, which involved a team of ProPublica reporters, revealed key ways the ultrawealthy avoid taxes. Before that, he worked on The TurboTax Trap and Gutting the IRS investigations.
Past areas of focus included the foreclosure crisis, high-cost lending, the use of lawsuits to collect consumer debts, and the consumer bankruptcy system.
He has won numerous awards, including the Selden Ring Award, a Gerald Loeb Award, a Barlett & Steele Award, a Scripps Howard Award twice, a Hillman Prize, and a Philip Meyer Award from Investigative Reporters and Editors.
His work has appeared in several newspapers, including The Washington Post and The New York Times. He has also produced stories for National Public Radio and American Public Media’s Marketplace, as well as appeared on This American Life.
TurboTax and Others Charged at Least 14 Million Americans for Tax Prep That Should Have Been Free, Audit Finds
Tax software companies made around $1 billion in revenue by charging people who were eligible to file for free.
Who’s Afraid of the IRS? Not Facebook.
The social media behemoth is about to face off with the tax agency in a rare trial to capture billions that the IRS thinks Facebook owes. But onerous budget cuts have hamstrung the agency’s ability to bring the case.
The IRS Decided to Get Tough Against Microsoft. Microsoft Got Tougher.
For years, the company has moved billions in profits to Puerto Rico to avoid taxes. When the IRS pushed it to pay, Microsoft protested that the agency wasn’t being nice. Then it aggressively fought back in court, lobbied Congress and changed the law.
IRS Reforms Free File Program, Drops Agreement Not to Compete With TurboTax
The changes come after ProPublica’s reporting showed how TurboTax maker Intuit tricked customers into paying for tax prep they could have gotten for free.
The IRS Tried to Hide Emails That Show Tax Industry Influence Over Free File Program
After ProPublica sued the IRS, the agency released emails that show it has allowed the tax preparation industry to write the rules.
Inside TurboTax’s 20-Year Fight to Stop Americans From Filing Their Taxes for Free
Using lobbying, the revolving door and “dark pattern” customer tricks, Intuit fended off the government’s attempts to make tax filing free and easy, and created its multi-billion-dollar franchise.
The Bailout Was 11 Years Ago. We’re Still Tracking Every Penny.
Over a decade ago, we started a database to track TARP, the 2008 bailout of the financial system. It turns out bailouts are forever, and we’re still updating the damn thing. So, recently, we decided to give it a makeover.
Bailout Tracker: See Where More Than $600 Billion Went
ProPublica is still tracking where every dollar of taxpayer money from the 2008 bailout of the financial system has gone. See for yourself.
IRS: Sorry, but It’s Just Easier and Cheaper to Audit the Poor
Congress asked the IRS to report on why it audits the poor more than the affluent. Its response is that it doesn’t have enough money and people to audit the wealthy properly. So it’s not going to.
Trump’s Tax Law Threatened TurboTax’s Profits. So the Company Started Charging the Disabled, the Unemployed and Students.
The move by TurboTax maker Intuit to charge more lower-income customers has helped boost revenue.