Virtual Entrepreneur:
Kenneth Martin, a utility worker near Columbia, S.C., hired a Liberty Tax Service franchisee to file his tax returns in 2007 and 2008, not expecting any problems.
Martin, 57, had hired certified public accountants in previous years to file his tax returns without a glitch. So he was surprised when he later learned the South Carolina Department of Revenue was auditing him and his wife.
“I thought, ‘Why?’ I went to a professional tax service for advice on how to do my taxes,” Martin said. “I’m all about paying what I owe.”
The Martins filed a lawsuit against the Liberty Tax Service franchisee in 2009 and against the company in South Carolina district court in November. In their complaint, they said the firm inflated business expenses and produced false information about charitable donations.
The Martins also claimed the Liberty Tax Service office they hired did not follow through with a guarantee to assist them during the audit process. Read on…