Liberty Tax Franchise CEO Terms IRS Decision to Terminate the Debt Indicator "Disappointing for Consumers"

By: Liberty Tax Service | 2 Shares 184 Reads

August 06, 2010 // Franchising.com // (Virginia Beach, VA) Liberty Tax Service CEO and Founder John Hewitt reacted strongly to the IRS announcement today that the debt indicator will be discontinued. This action signals a drastic change for Refund Anticipation Loan options. The decision means that the IRS will not disclose to financial institutions or tax preparers if a taxpayer owes the government any money that will be deducted from their expected refund. This step hinders a financial institution's approval process for a customer who applies for a Refund Anticipation Loan. Without the debt indicator, banks that provide refund loans must use other methods to financially screen clients. As a result, many people who would otherwise receive the loan will be denied. Also, the fees charged to customers who do receive the loan will be considerably higher because of the additional underwriting risks.

"It's a disappointing decision for consumers. The demand for Refund Anticipation Loans is customer-driven. We are emerging from the greatest financial downturn since the Great Depression. This really isn't the time to take financial options away from those who choose them, and more importantly need them ," said Hewitt from his corporate headquarters in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

About Liberty Tax Service

Liberty Tax Service is the fastest-growing retail tax preparation company in the industry's history. Founded in 1997 by CEO John T. Hewitt, a pioneer in the tax industry, Liberty Tax Service has prepared over 8,000,000 individual income tax returns. With 41 years of tax industry experience, Hewitt is the most experienced CEO ever in the tax preparation business, having also founded Jackson Hewitt Tax Service (NYSE:JTX).

Liberty Tax Service provides computerized income tax preparation, electronic filing, and online filing through eSmart Tax. The Liberty Tax Service franchise opportunity is #9 on the fastest-growing franchises list of the 2010 Entrepreneur "Franchise 500", and was selected as one of the top 26 Franchises for Hispanics by PODER magazine in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010. The company is a member of the International Franchise Association, and an active member of its MinorityFran and VetFran programs.

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