Liberty Tax Service Set To Open its 4,000th Office, in Brandon

We've seen Lady Liberty in the Greater Brandon Fourth of July Parade, and we see her, too, waving to us occasionally from the town's main thoroughfare, in front of the office at 231 E. Brandon Blvd.

Lots of waves are expected Jan. 8, when the tax preparation company plans to celebrate its grand opening of the company's 4,000th office nationwide and in Canada, at 927 Lithia-Pinecrest Rd. in Brandon.

Attendees to the 11 a.m.-3 p.m. event are asked to bring a food item to help fill the food truck from the Nativity Outreach Food Pantry and food bank.

"We welcome our neighbors to stop by and get acquainted," said owner-operator Joanna Parichkov, who joined Liberty Tax in 2009 and now has nine offices, in a news release about the grand-opening event. "Our tax professionals will be on hand with free tax advice."

Along with the tips, the schedule includes a ribbon-cutting, refreshments and a bounce house for children.

According to company officials, Liberty's first three offices opened in Tampa and Pinellas Park in 2000 and there now are 133 offices in the Tampa Bay area.

Liberty reportedly surpassed 1,000 offices in 2004 and now, with the company's second Brandon location, the 4,000th-mark will be exceeded.

The occasion will be marked by the attendance of John Hewitt, founder and chief executive officer of Liberty Tax Service.

Accounting Today named Hewit, with 42 years of experience in the tax industry, as one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in the tax industry in 2011. Hewitt also founded the Jackson Hewitt Tax Service.

"This year has been an exhilirating time of record growth in many areas for Liberty Tax," Hewitt said in a company news release. "As we mark this milestone for our operating system, we continue our quest and drive to be the number one tx company in the industry."

______________

BUSINESS SNAPSHOT: LIBERTY TAX SERVICE

• Founded in 1997, by John Hewitt, "a pioneer inthe tax industry."

• Company has prepare more than 9 million individual income-tax retruns.

• Each office provides computerized income-tax preparation, electronic filing and free checking of self-prepared tax returns.