FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Cynthia Whitbred-Spanoulis, (757) 385-6459
LIBERTY TAX SERVICE TO EXPAND INTERNATIONAL
HEADQUARTERS IN VIRGINIA BEACH
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – (August 2008) – Virginia Beach Economic Development is pleased to
announce that Liberty Tax Service will double the size of its international headquarters in Virginia
Beach due to the company’s continuing expansion.
Liberty Tax Service has been headquartered in Virginia Beach since its inception in 1997. The
company moved to Corporate Landing Business Park in September of 2004 with the purchase of a
31,000-square-foot office building. Since that time the Liberty Tax Service has grown dramatically and
now employs more than 250 full-time, year-round employees and more than 200 seasonal and part-
time employees.
Last year, Liberty Tax Service purchased eSmart Tax, an internet-based tax preparation company.
This acquisition, along with Liberty’s expanding franchise network, prompted the company to add 144
new jobs to Virginia Beach in the next 30 months. Positions include management, tax and legal
advisors, and technical and administrative support. Liberty’s capital investment in the expansion is
estimated to be $6.5 million.
Liberty Tax Service is the fastest growing retail tax preparation company in history, with approximately
3,000 offices in the United States and Canada. The company has 1,756 franchisees in 50 states and
every province in Canada. Its international corporate headquarters are located in Virginia Beach’s
Corporate Landing, a 350-acre business park developed by the Virginia Beach Development Authority
comprising approximately 500,000 square feet of office space. For more information about Liberty Tax
Service, visit libertytax.com.
“The Corporate Landing area is a unique work environment,” states Liberty’s CEO and founder John
Hewitt. “With the area’s growth, our employees enjoy many conveniences. We are optimistic about the
continued growth and expansion of the company here and the city’s ability to attract other
businesses. We look forward to an ongoing partnership with the City of Virginia Beach and the Virginia
Beach Economic Development Authority and remaining proud corporate residents of this community
and city.”
Currently, Liberty Tax Service has a 30,000-square-foot office headquarters on a 6.245-acre site. The
company will build an additional 30,000-square-foot office building on the site to accommodate the
expansion. The company has also purchased .81-acres of adjoining property from the Virginia Beach
Development Authority to upgrade the parking facility.
“We are extremely pleased that Liberty Tax Service is expanding in Virginia Beach,” says Warren D.
Harris, director of Virginia Beach Economic Development. “This decision demonstrates the appeal that
Virginia Beach has to companies across the world. Not only do we retain 253 high quality jobs, we gain
144 new employment opportunities.”
The mission of the City of Virginia Beach Department of Economic Development is to attract and retain
national and international business and industry that results in the creation of new capital investment
and jobs that increase the per capita income in the community. The City of Virginia Beach has a
population of 440,908 and is the most populous in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the 42nd largest
city in the United States. Virginia Beach has been recognized as having one of the ten best economic
development groups in the nation by Site Selection magazine. In 2006, Virginia Beach was named one
of the ten best big cities in America by Money magazine. In 2008, the Department of Economic
Development received re-accreditation through the International Economic Development Council, one
of only 25 economic development organizations in the world to have this recognition. For more
information, visit yesvirginiabeach.com.
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