US District court enjoins proposed merger with H&R Block and TaxAct tax prep software due to anti trust concerns

Last year, approximately 140 million Americans filed tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS"). Paying taxesis a fundamental civic duty in our democracy. Taxes pay for the government to carry out its constitutionally mandated functions and enable the government to give force to the laws and policies adopted by the people of the United States through their elected representatives. Despite the necessity of taxes to fund our government and to sustain services that many citizens depend upon, the task of preparing a tax return brings joy to the hearts of few. Many find it to be a complex and tedious exercise. Fortunately, various businesses offer different products and services designed to assist taxpayers with preparing their returns. These tax preparation businesses principally includeaccountants, retail tax stores, and digital tax software providers — all of which provide important services to the American taxpayer. In this case, the United States, through the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice, seeks to enjoin a proposed merger between two companies that offer tax software products — H&R Block and TaxACT — on the grounds that the merger violates the antitrust laws and will lead to an anticompetitive duopoly in which the only substantial providers of digital tax software in the marketplace would be H&R Block and Intuit, the maker of the popular "TurboTax" software program. After carefully considering all of the evidence, including documents and factual and expert testimony, the applicable law, and the arguments before the Court, the Court will enjoin the proposed merger for the reasons explained in detail below.

rest here http://www.leagle.com/xmlResult.aspx?xmldoc=In%20FDCO%2020111110I50.xml&docbase=CSLWAR3-2007-CURR