Education
University at Buffalo, The State University of New New York
University at Buffalo, The State University of New New York
As of late 2006 Hewitt served as Chief Executive Officer, chairman of the board and president of the latter. Together these companies account for more than 10,000 tax preparation offices in the United States. and Canada. In addition, John Hewitt was a pioneer in the development and use of specialized tax-preparation software, which is now the industry"s standard practice.
Hewitt began his career in 1969, while still a student at the University at Buffalo, by attending a tax-preparation course offered by Henry and Richard Block.
Finding the topic quite interesting, he subsequently obtained employment with that company as a tax preparer. By 1980 He was the youngest regional director at Henry and Richard Block running over 250 offices.
Hewitt perceived a need for technological innovation within the tax industry and he left Henry and Richard Block in order to pursue that opportunity. Working alongside his father, he pioneered the development of decision-free tax-preparation software.
However, Henry and Richard Block was not interested in this new way of doing business.
This led Hewitt to found a tax-preparation service that would exploit the efficiency of the new technology. That goal would materialize in August 1982 in Hampton Roads, Virginia after Hewitt and other investors acquired the six offices of a local tax-preparation company, Mel Jackson Tax Service and launched the "Hewtax" interview program the first of its kind in the industry. Hewitt developed the software with his father Daniel.
In 1988, the company changed its name to Jackson Hewitt.
By 1986, Internal Revenue Service personnel also began seeing the advantages of computerized filings. That year the Internal Revenue Service tested the electronic filing process, allowing taxpayers to directly file their taxes and bypass the mailing of returns entirely.
As a leader in using technology to facilitate tax filings, Jackson Hewitt benefited considerably. Also in 1986, Jackson Hewitt began offering franchises in the United States.
The company became public in 1994, and was sold for $483 million in 1997, by which time it was operating 1,345 offices.
Having left Jackson Hewitt at the time of its acquisition, John Hewitt was contractually barred from competing with it until 2000 in most of the United States. However, he decided to launch a new company which would be the vehicle for yet further innovations, In order not to infringe the terms of the contract with the purchasers of Jackson Hewitt, the new company initially focused its operations in Canada. was launched there when Hewitt purchased a Canadian tax company on September 1, 1997. is best known for the costumed "wavers" dressed as the Statue of Liberty used in front of the offices across the country. is perennially ranked in the Entrepreneur magazine ranking of the country"s most successful franchises, appearing in third place in 2009. Small Business Influencer Champion Small Business Trends and Smallbiztechnology.com (2011).