Liberty Tax will pay $700,000 to settle a suit brought by Washington D.C. accusing the tax preparation company of deceiving taxpayers by offering them quick cash but hiking fees for those who accepted the offer.
The total includes $550,000 to be paid to more than 7,300 District residents that were said have been misled and overcharged. It must also pay $200,000 to District and end deceptive marketing and pricing tactics it used nationally.
Liberty aggressively promoted immediate handouts of $50 per taxpayer—cash in a flash—just for filing returns with Liberty. In 2022, the District’s AG sued Liberty saying while the offer had “no catch”, Liberty charged up to $200 more for tax preparation for those who those who accepted it.
Bob Scott has provided information to the tax and accounting community since 1991, first as technology editor of Accounting Today, and from 1997 through 2009 as editor of its sister publication, Accounting Technology. He is known throughout the industry for his depth of knowledge and for his high journalistic standards. Scott has made frequent appearances as a speaker, moderator and panelist and events serving tax and accounting professionals. He has a strong background in computer journalism as an editor with two former trade publications, Computer+Software News and MIS Week and spent several years with weekly and daily newspapers in Morris County New Jersey prior to that. A graduate of Indiana University with a degree in journalism, Bob is a native of Madison, Ind
