John Hewitt (entrepreneur)

Last updated

John T. Hewitt (born 1949) is an American businessman, the co-founder of Jackson Hewitt, sole founder of Liberty Tax Service and now CEO of ATAX. As of late 2006, Hewitt served as CEO, chairman of the board and president of the latter. Together these companies account for more than 10,000 tax preparation offices in the United States and Canada. In addition, John Hewitt was a pioneer in the development and use of specialized tax-preparation software, which is now the industry's standard practice.

Contents

Early life and education

Hewitt is a native of Detroit, Michigan. [1] His parents moved to Greece, New York when he was four, and then to Hamburg, New York when he was 14. He graduated from Hamburg High School prior to enrolling at the University at Buffalo. [1]

Career

Early career with H&R Block

Hewitt began his career in 1969, leaving the University of Buffalo early to become a tax preparer with H&R Block. [1] He quickly moved through the ranks of the organization, becoming an assistance district manager for Western New York and then a district manager for the areas of Elmira, Corning, and Ithaca. [1]

By 1980, he was the youngest regional director at H&R Block, running over 250 offices. [2]

Hewitt perceived a need for technological innovation within the tax industry and he left H&R Block in order to pursue that opportunity. Working alongside his father, he pioneered the development of decision-tree tax-preparation software. However, H&R Block was uninterested in the software, leading Hewitt to found a tax-preparation service that would exploit the efficiency of electronic tax preparation. [2]

Jackson Hewitt

In August 1982, in Hampton Roads, Virginia, Hewitt and other investors acquired the six offices of a local tax-preparation company, Mel Jackson Tax Service. They launched the "Hewtax" interview program, the first of its kind in the industry, that had been developed with his father. In 1988, the company changed its name to Jackson Hewitt. By 1986, the IRS began testing an electronic filing process, allowing taxpayers to directly file their taxes, bypassing mailing of returns entirely, benefitting Jackson Hewitt and other providers of electronically produced tax forms. Also in 1986, Jackson Hewitt began offering franchises in the United States.

According to Inc. Magazine , by 1992, Jackson Hewitt had attained a second place ranking within its industry and was one of the fastest growing private companies in the United States. The company became public in 1994. When it was sold for $483 million in 1997, it was operating 1,345 offices.

Liberty Tax Service

John Hewitt had left Jackson Hewitt at the time of its acquisition, and was contractually barred from competing with the company until 2000 within most areas of the United States. In order to avoid infringing on the terms of his non-compete contract, Hewitt initially focused the company's operations in Canada, purchasing a Canadian tax company on September 1, 1997. [3]

As of 2024, Liberty Tax operated 2,500+ offices in North America. Liberty Tax Service is best known for the costumed "wavers" dressed as the Statue of Liberty used in front of the offices across the country. [3]

During Hewitt's tenure at Liberty Tax Service, he wrote and published the book iCompete: How My Extraordinary Strategy for Winning Can Be Yours (2016).

Controversy

New York-based law firm of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom found that Hewitt had romantic relationships with at least 10 female employees that created a hostile work environment at the company, according to the complaint. Hewitt caused Liberty officials to favor his romantic partners, according to the suit. In one case, he granted a girlfriend the right to buy a tax-prep franchise without a down payment. When she later decided to cash out of the business, he ordered executives to pay her seven times the franchise's value plus $220,000 in cash and stock, according to the suit. Hewitt was forced out as the CEO at Liberty Tax Service. [4]

Loyalty Brands

John Hewitt founded Loyalty Brands in 2018. This is an umbrella franchise company that manages twelve brands. The synergy between the brands allows franchisees to create a portfolio of several businesses that complement each other as a way to diversify and grow their entities. Currently, Loyalty Brands manages several operational and sales aspects for the brands, four wholly owned by Loyalty Brands, including ATAX Tax Service, Ledgers Accounting, Little Medical School, Zoomin Groomin Mobile Pet Spa and Loyalty Business Brokers.

Honors and awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Business model</span> Description of how businesses operate

A business model describes how a business organization creates, delivers, and captures value, in economic, social, cultural or other contexts. The model describes the specific way in which the business conducts itself, spends, and earns money in a way that generates profit. The process of business model construction and modification is also called business model innovation and forms a part of business strategy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">H&R Block</span> American tax preparation company

H&R Block, Inc., or H&R Block, is an American tax preparation company operating in Canada, the United States, and Australia. The company was founded in 1955 in Kansas City, Missouri, by brothers Henry W. Bloch and Richard Bloch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jackson Hewitt</span> US tax preparer

Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc. is the second largest tax-preparation service in the United States; responsible for preparing over 2 million federal, state, and local income-tax returns each year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Refund anticipation loan</span>

Refund anticipation loan (RAL) is a short-term consumer loan in the United States provided by a third party against an expected tax refund for the duration it takes the tax authority to pay the refund. The loan term was usually about two to three weeks, related to the time it took the U.S. Internal Revenue Service to deposit refunds in electronic accounts. The loans were designed to make the refund available in as little as 24 hours. They were secured by a taxpayer's expected tax refund, and designed to offer customers quicker access to funds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cendant</span> Defunct American company

Cendant Corporation was an American provider of business and consumer services, primarily within the real estate and travel industries. In 2005 and 2006, it broke up and spun off or sold its constituent businesses. Although it was based in New York City, the majority of its headquarters employees were in Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intuit</span> American financial software company

Intuit Inc. is an American multinational business software company that specializes in financial software. The company is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and the CEO is Sasan Goodarzi. Intuit's products include the tax preparation application TurboTax, the small business accounting program QuickBooks, the credit monitoring and personal accounting service Credit Karma, and email marketing platform Mailchimp. As of 2019, more than 95% of its revenues and earnings come from its activities within the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economy of Bengaluru</span> Big network of Karnataka

Bengaluru, the capital city of the South Indian state of Karnataka, India. The economy of Bengaluru contributes over 43.65% to the economy of the State of Karnataka, accounting for 98% of the Software Exports of the State.

Tax preparation is the process of preparing tax returns, often income tax returns, often for a person other than the taxpayer, and generally for compensation. Tax preparation may be done by the taxpayer with or without the help of tax preparation software and online services. Tax preparation may also be done by a licensed professional such as an attorney, certified public accountant or enrolled agent, or by an unlicensed tax preparation business. Because United States income tax laws are considered to be complicated, many taxpayers seek outside assistance with taxes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reynolds and Reynolds</span> Private corporation based in Ohio

The Reynolds and Reynolds Company is a private corporation based in Dayton, Ohio. Its primary business is providing business forms, management software and professional services to car dealerships. Its software is used to manage sales logistics at dealerships. It also produces forms used in medicine and insurance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liberty Tax</span> Tax preparation company

Liberty Tax, is a chain of franchise and company-owned locations that provide tax preparation services. It is known for its wavers, people in Statue of Liberty costumes and Uncle Sam costumes, used as a form of guerrilla marketing. It is the third largest institutional tax preparation service provider in the United States and second largest in Canada.

Mphasis Limited is an Indian multinational information technology service and consulting company based in Bangalore. The company provides infrastructure technology and applications outsourcing services, as well as architecture guidance, application development and integration, and application management services. It serves financial services, telecom, logistics, and technology industries. Mphasis was ranked #7 in Indian IT companies and overall #189 by Fortune India 500 in 2019. In April 2016, Hewlett Packard Enterprise sold the majority of its stake in Mphasis to Blackstone Group LP for around US$1 billion.

Instant Tax Service was, until a federal court ordered its closure as part of a fraud lawsuit, based out of Dayton, Ohio, and specialized in tax preparation, electronic filing, and refund anticipation loan services.

North is a fintech and payments company founded in 1992 by Marc Gardner, who serves as the company’s CEO/President. Formerly known as North American Bancard, the company rebranded as North in 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TaxSlayer</span> Privately held tax preparation and tax software company based in Augusta, Georgia

TaxSlayer LLC is a privately held tax preparation and tax software company based in Augusta, Georgia. The company offers online tax preparation technology for American consumers and tax professionals, allowing them to electronically file state and/or federal returns. TaxSlayer also offers business technology products and services for legal, bookkeeping and HR/payroll.

The University at Buffalo School of Management is a business school located at the State University of New York at Buffalo. It is AACSB accredited in both business and accounting. UB School of Management is the highest ranking public business school in New York. The School of Management is also the largest business school in the SUNY system.

Santa Barbara Tax Products Group is an American tax preparation and tax refund company based in San Diego, California. The company services U.S. taxpayers and provides refund anticipation loans. It is a subsidiary of the Green Dot Corporation.

William J. Tobin is an American entrepreneur, inventor, and business owner known for founding ten different startups since 1968, and securing 15 different patents for products and software. Among the companies he founded and served as CEO and Director of Marketing are PC Flowers, Inc. from 1988, Instruments of Sweden, and Concept Industries, Inc. He was named an "Entrepreneur of the Year" by Inc. Magazine and in 2011 published the memoir and business tutorial Confessions of a Compulsive Entrepreneur and Inventor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aon Hewitt</span> American consulting company

Aon Hewitt was a provider of human capital and management consulting services headquartered in Lincolnshire, Illinois in the United States. From 500 offices in 120 countries, it provided consulting, outsourcing, and reinsurance brokerage services. The "Aon Hewitt" brand and legal entities have now been absorbed into the "Aon" business, leaving obsolete the names "Hewitt" and "Aon Hewitt."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wave Financial</span> Canadian provider of financial software and services for small businesses.

Wave is a Canadian company that provides financial services and software for small businesses. Wave is headquartered in the East Bayfront neighborhood in Toronto, Canada.

Michael Alan Vadini is an American entrepreneur, businessman and founder & co-founder of seven companies including Prima Consulting, TITAN Technology Partners Limited, Skylark Productions, SignUpGenius, Torus Sphere, Inc., and Infocenter. Vadini is also a former candidate for the North Carolina Senate.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Epstein, Jonathan D. (September 9, 2007). "Meet Mr. Form 1040 Hamburg High grad founded both Jackson-Hewitt, Liberty Tax firms". Buffalo News. Archived from the original on July 5, 2023. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
  2. 1 2 Iness, Carolina (2021-03-08). "Interview with John Hewitt, Franchise Pioneer". Vetted Biz. Archived from the original on 2023-01-30. Retrieved 2023-01-30.
  3. 1 2 Rogers, Bruce. "Entrepreneur John Hewitt Wants To Help You Compete To Win And End World Hunger". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2023-01-30. Retrieved 2023-01-30.
  4. ↑ "Liberty Tax Founder John Hewitt Faces Ouster Amid Sex Scandal Allegations". 13 December 2017. Archived from the original on 29 April 2024. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  5. ↑ Liberty Tax Service. "John Hewitt named Small Business Influencer Champion 2011". Archived from the original on 2012-06-25.
  6. ↑ Accounting Today's 100 Most Influential People
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.