Thomson Reuters has agreed to sell its healthcare business to Veritas Capital, a private equity firm, for $1.25 billion in cash. The deal would consummate a plan by Thomson that had been stalled last fall when the company decided market conditions were not right for getting an adequate price for the healthcare business.

The Department of Justice is asking a federal court to bar three Philadelphia-area tax preparers from preparing federal tax returns for others. The government seeks to block Deron Joe, Edmund Dassin and James Tokpawhiea, Liberian nationals who are legal permanent residents of the United States, from engaging in the tax preparation business. The suit alleges that most customers of their business, Urban Tax Professionals, are also from Liberia and were referred by friends and relatives.

Republic Bancorp, which had been the last remaining source of Refund Anticipation Loans, saw a 10-percent decrease in net income its Tax Refund Solutions segment for the first quarter ended March 31. Income fell to $61.9 million because of a decline in volume for RALs and electronic refund checks and electronic refund deposits. The company cited greater demand for on-line tax preparation services and increased competition for the decline.