I think it's quite irresponsible of Intuit to even recognize Bitcoin, much less comment on its tax implications. Their lawyers should know better.
Their lawyers are not involved at this stage of this article's writing. Only if there is a legal challenge would Legal be called in. But I found this article dreadful, probably written by some San Jose hipster with trendy sideburns. Really poorly researched! (The initial two comments are great.)
But I have some insight into how these articles are put together. Some group(s) within Intuit are assigned topics and a young-something-eager-to-please-product-of-modern-schooling takes it and runs and queues up for the next assignment. No one is checking him/her. At performance review him/her is graded not on IF they met their goals, but HOW they met their goals and if other managers like him/her.
What do you mean their lawyers aren't involved at this stage? That in itself is even more irresponsible. When a company issues a statement providing legal interpretation of the law - even when they disclaim otherwise, and especially in a grey area - such statement should be carefully vetted by their counsel. If what you say regarding the publication process is true, then I've just lost a lot of faith in Intuit.