Sales of Intuit’s TurboTax Software Lagging

Intuit Inc.’s retail sales of its TurboTax income-tax preparation software are lagging last year’s sales by more than 30%, market researcher PC Data Inc. said. TurboTax is one of Intuit’s flagship products. Sales of tax-related products for consumers totaled about $216 million in the last fiscal year, or 20% of the company’s revenue. Intuit unveiled this year’s version of TurboTax on Dec. 5. Intuit officials said sales are behind last year’s because of product shipment schedules and because more consumers plan to use Intuit’s Web-based products as tax deadlines approach. The company said it still thinks sales will meet forecasts as business picks up next year. Shares of Mountain View, Calif.-based Intuit fell $4.56, or 11%, to close at $35.25 on Nasdaq.