With 93,000 units of professional tax software sold in the second quarter ended January 31, Intuit continues to have by far the largest share of the market. But the number of units continues to slip as the most recent total is down from 95,000 in last year's corresponding quarter and off from 97,000 in the same quarter in fiscal 2009. The company's peak came in the second quarter of fiscal 2007 when Intuit sold 102,000 units. Meanwhile, Intuit regained retail market share and reported gains in online consumer tax sales for the period.

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The American Institute of CPAs has chosen control and use of mobile devices as the No. 1 issue for its Top Technology Initiatives for 2011. It's the second year for the ranking of initiatives, which last year replaced the previous Top Ten Technologies. The selection combines a variety of technologies and business processes impacted by technology.

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Republic Bancorp, which is providing the bulk of refund loans during the current tax season, is seeking a hearing on an opinion from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., that its providing refund anticipations without the availability of the debt indicator is unsafe and unsound. Republic said it has already issued about 75 percent of its projected RAL volume. The FDIC move apparently could not halt the program until a hearing is held, which is described as being 60 days from the time the bank received the notice. However, if upheld, it would end RALs for 2012. Read more...