Looking to accelerate its growth in the online and packaged software tax industry, H&R Block yesterday acquired San Diego-based TaxNet Inc., a provider of customized online tax services. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"This acquisition brings leadership and product innovation that will serve as a catalyst for short- and long-term growth," said Jeff Yabuki, H&R Block's chief operating officer, in a statement. "Our objective is for H&R Block to be the leader in all aspects of the tax business and the digital market represents an important growth opportunity for the company."
A statement from H&R Block noted that the online and packaged tax software market grew 17 percent last year, according to statistics from the Internal Revenue Service.
TaxNet co-founders Tom Allanson and David Murray will both join H&R Block -- Allanson as senior vice president and general manager of the company's Digital Tax Solutions Group, and Murray as vice president of digital tax marketing and product innovation. H&R Block will maintain a tax technology development facility in San Diego.
Before founding TaxNet in 2004, Allanson was responsible for all aspects of TurboTax as senior vice president and general manager of Intuit's consumer tax group. Murray was head of innovation for TurboTax, focusing on marketing and product development based on consumer feedback.
TaxNet's online tax program was launched six months ago and allowed taxpayers to complete and e-file their returns quickly and conveniently by viewing only relevant information contained on a minimum number of screens. H&R Block will add TaxNet's online tax service,
