H&R Block Losses Widen As Customers Delay Filing

As consumers wait longer to file their taxes, H&R Block is feeling the pinch. It was revealed on Thursday that the long-established tax services company had posted greater-than-expected losses for the last quarter due to consumer delays.  The company is also facing currency headwinds impacting business from overseas.

H&R Block Losses
Photo by pasa47

Typically, H&R Block has posted losses for quarters outside the normal tax season; however, these recent losses revealed a deeper downturn for the same period last year, missing expectations from Wall Street. As a result, shares slipped 5.1% in after-hours trading, leaving the stock at $31.22, which is down 2.5% for the year so far. The company also reported that total U.S. tax returns had slipped more than 6% for the first three quarters of the year.

H&R Block’s chief executive, Bill Cobb, stated that this tax season was being impacted by continual instances of fraud as well as the ongoing trend of returns being filed later in the season by taxpayers. This also causes tax refunds to take longer to process. Cobb also noted that there were significant measured being taken by both the federal and state governments to fight tax fraud, which would create some material changes in the industry.

H&R Block reported a total loss of $81.7 million for the quarter, or 35 cents per share. This is compared to a loss of $36.9 million a year earlier. After adjustments, H&R Block earnings was down 34 cents a share as sales increased by 6.8% to $475 million.

Tax Deductions Most People Miss On TurboTax

Discover the Most Overlooked Tax Benefits

Reduce your taxes by claiming tax deductions. The following is a list of tax deductions most people miss on Intuit’s Turbotax.

  1. State Sales Tax
    When doing business, payment of sales tax to the state is often necessary. For individual taxpayers, moneys paid towards sales tax can be claimed as tax deduction. For instance, if you purchased a car, you can claim a deduction equivalent to the sales tax rate for your state on the value of that vehicle.

  2. Reinvested Dividends
    This is not really a tax deduction but it can save you a significant amount of money. If you reinvest mutual fund dividends in additional shares, you can increase you tax saving-loss, or reduce the taxable capital gain, when you dispose of your shares.

  3. Personal Charitable Contributions
    The little costs you incur when supporting a charitable cause matter a lot. For instance, if you bought postal stamps to send invitations to potential contributors for a fundraiser, or bought ingredients to make soup for the guests, you can claim the deduction.

  4. Interest Paid on Student Loans by Parents
    If you are not listed as a dependent by your parents, you can claim a deduction equivalent to interest payments made by your parents, up to a maximum of $2,500. The IRS assumes that your parents gave you the money and you made the payments, so you qualify for the deduction.

  5. Moving Expense Related to your First Job
    If you land your first job, which requires you to move from where you currently live, you can take comfort in the fact that you can claim a tax deduction on the moving expense. The best thing about it is that you can still get the deduction even if you do not itemize. The standard rate is 23 cents for every mile, provided you moved more than fifty miles.

  6. Child Care Tax Credit
    This is a credit, not a deduction. It applies to expenses incurred while raising a child. Parents and guardians can claim this deduction if they spent up to $6,000 on child care-related expenses. This tax credit can reduce your tax bill by over $200.

Oz Is Passionate About Raspberry Ketone

Cinnamon Ice Cream & Raspberry Sorbet
Cinnamon Ice Cream & Raspberry Sorbet (Photo credit: ulterior epicure)

Renowned talk show host speaks out on behalf of raspberry ketone, garcinia cambogia and raspberry ketone.

The “Dr Oz Show” is currently into it’s fifth season and Dr Mehmet Oz, the cardiac surgeon, come chat show host has been awarded three Daytime Emmy awards for his efforts. He frequently talks about his weight loss supplements and he often refers to them as miraculous products. However, Senator Claire McCaskill challenged Dr Oz about raspberry ketone and other popular weight loss products.

Senator McCaskill felt that he dramatized the benefits of the dietary supplements like raspberry ketone. The senator added that the talk show appeared to peddle dietary products in a bid to boost sales. Raspberry ketone and numerous other dietary aids featured on the show encouraged scam artists to use deceptive advertising to sell questionable goods. The Senator expressed her fear that the mixture of entertainment, news and medical advice on the show could prove harmful to consumers.

Dr Oz stepped in to defend himself. He said he believed in the products and he felt the raspberry ketone and green coffee extract helped many to lose weight. Dr Oz felt the raspberry ketones were a miracle in a bottle and the miraculous weight loss product had helped thousands to burn unwanted fat.

The Senator asked the doctor to ensure the scam merchants were unable to profiteer from his claims, however, he stated, that many people had benefited from his ground-breaking weight loss plans. Dr Oz feels raspberry ketone is a miraculous product that can help to bust body fat forever. His famous dietary products like raspberry ketone were extravagantly labelled as safe and effective weight loss supplements and the doctor felt this was justifiable. Dr Oz is passionate about raspberry ketone and numerous other fat burning supplements, and he wanted his fans to remain passionate too.

How To Buy Raspberry Ketone Supplements

The raspberry ketone diet is one of the latest weight loss trends. Ketones are substances that are found naturally in raspberries, like in many other berries and fruits. However, if you wanted to get enough ketones from raspberries to actually have any weight loss benefits, you would have to eat large amounts of the berries every day. A much easier way to use raspberries for weight loss is to buy raspberry ketone in supplement form.

Ketones are found in many plants, vegetables and fruits. They are aromatic compounds that can also be created in a laboratory synthetically, but natural ketones are believed to be better for diet purposes. Ketones are thought to regulate the amount of a protein called adiponectin in the body. This can make the body burn off calories extra fast and to speed up the metabolism, helping you to get rid of excess fat. A typical dose of raspberry ketone is 100 mg daily and the easiest way to get the correct dose is to take a standardized supplement.

When you buy raspberry ketone products, always check how much of the active ingredient the supplement contains. There are supplements on the market with varying amounts of ketones and it is important to get an accurate daily dose. Some supplements should be taken twice a day and some should be taken just once a day. To make sure you get a quality product, it is best to buy raspberry ketone supplements that are reputable and have received good consumer reviews.