Tax Preparer Jackson Hewitt Forms Strategy for Tax Season.(Originated from St. Petersburg Times, Fla.)

Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News, August, 1996 by Huntley, Helen

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.--Aug. 10--John Hewitt may never catch H&R Block, but he's trying.

"There's room for two players," said Hewitt, chairman of the other player, Jackson Hewitt Inc. "Our growth has come at the expense of mom-and-pop operations."

Although it's still a distant No. 2 in the tax preparation business, Jackson Hewitt has come a long way since Hewitt and a group of investors bought the Mel Jackson Tax Service in 1982. At the time, Jackson was doing 11,000 returns a year. Last tax season, Jackson Hewitt prepared 722,000 returns.

Chains such as Jackson Hewitt have prospered with the growth of electronic filing, "instant refund" loans and increased awareness that most taxpayers don't need the expertise of a CPA.

Hewitt was in the Tampa...

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