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H&R Block (NYSE: HRB) is the leading tax preparation company in the
United States, and claims more than 22 million customers worldwide,
with offices in Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom. The Kansas
City, Mo.-based company also offers banking, personal finance and
business consulting services.
Founded in 1955 by brothers Henry W. and Richard Bloch in Kansas
City, Block today operates 12,500 retail tax offices in the U.S.,
plus another 1,400 abroad. Block also has operations in 1,500 shared
locations at Wal-Mart, Sears and other stores.
General information
The Bloch brothers, who started the current US$4 billion annual
business from one newspaper ad, chose the spelling “Block” for their
company name to avoid mispronunciations. The company's headquarters
occupies an entire block at Main and 13th Streets in Kansas City.
H&R Block new corporate headquarters (2006), an elliptical building
in downtown Kansas City, Mo. design by 360 Architecture Since its
beginning, Block has prepared more than 400 million tax returns, and
since 2000 has expanded its business to include banking, mortgage
lending, consumer financial planning, and accounting and consulting
services to mid-sized companies. Block’s businesses are:
H&R Block Tax Services
H&R Block Bank
H&R Block Financial Advisors
RSM McGladrey Business Solutions
In fiscal year 2007, Block reported revenue of US$4 billion and net
income of US$374.3 million. The company was ranked 467 in the Forbes
500 list of top U.S. companies in 2006. In mid-2007, Block had
market capitalization of $6.45 billion.
Besides its walk-in tax preparation offices, Block provides its own
consumer tax software called Tax Cut, as well as online tax
preparation and electronic filing from the H&R Block web site. The
site also offers tax tips and calculators.
In addition, Block offers public tax preparation courses for basic
and advanced students.
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