BusinessSECTION E / SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2020 news-journal.com

RNR Tire expanding to

LongviewBY KEN HEDLER

khedler@news-journal.com

RNR Tire Express, a national franchise retailer based in Tampa, Florida, is mak-ing plans to set up shop at 709 Estes Drive.

The company applied Jan. 24 to the city’s Development Services Department to build a 5,600-square-foot building, records show. The new construction application lists a construc-tion value of $900,000.

RNR did not return phone calls seeking information about its plans or timeline.

Established in 200 as RENT-n-ROLL, RNR has grown to include more than 100 locations in 23 states, RNR says in its marketing materi-als. The closest shop is in Tyler.

Val’s closes in KilgoreVal’s Italian Restaurant & Pizza Kilgo-

re at 210 E. Main St. has closed, the Kilgore Chamber of Commerce said via social media. Friday was its last day in business.

A person who answered the phone at Val’s declined to comment when reached earlier this week.

Val’s opened in the former Napolis Italian Restaurant in December 2016. Val’s is named for Val Lajqi, who opened the first location in Canton in 2005.

Johnson & Pace marks 25th Johnson & Pace, a Longview-based firm

that started with two partners and grew to 46 employees, marked its 25 anniversary with a party at The Reserve.

Civil engineer Wade Johnson and pro-fessional surveyor Lonnie Pace founded the company and the partnership expanded over the years into a firm providing services in architecture, structural engineering and industrial design.

Pace eventually retired, but the company continued with his name. Johnson’s wife, Delcine, stepped in as business manager after earning a business degree from the Univer-sity of Texas at Tyler, and was promoted to president.

Johnson & Pace has cultivated long-term relationships with clients, and nearly half of the employees have worked for the firm for more than 10 years.

MyEyeDr. expands to cityMyEyeDr. has expanded into Longview

with the acquisition of Vision Source at 2304 Judson Road.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.Based in Birmingham, Alabama, MyEyeDr.

was founded in 2001 and now operates in 25 states. It has about 25 locations in Texas.

Optometrist Jeff Jones founded Vision Source in 1987.

Visit myeyedr.com for more information.

Salons open at SolaCile Stokes, president of Sola Salons

Studios Longview at 110 Triple Creek Drive, Suite 40, reported four new studios have opened.

They are:Studio 14, with Stephanie Kirbow special-

izing in hair cutting, hair color, facial waxing and Aqua tape-in extensions.

Studio 21, with the Elise Experience Salon owned by Chabrea Blackmon offering silk press and other services.

Studio 22, with Hannah Lindsey special-izing in brow, advanced hair cutting and color services.

Studio 25, with Darline Hunter special-izing in natural hair, silk press and Influence products.

Visit www.solassalonstudios.com/locations/longview for more information.

rue21 adding plus sizesThe rue21 clothing store at 3088 N. Eastman

Road is undergoing a renovation as one of 61 stores nationwide adding plus-size clothes this quarter,.

“As a leader in on-trend fashion at afford-able prices, we have made the decision to strategically and aggressively expand rue21’s collection of plus-size clothes to teen girls and young women,” CEO Michael C. Appel said in a statement. “Plus is a ‘white space’ opportunity for rue21 because few retailers offer on-trend fashion at great prices in the full range of prices.”

Plus sizes go up to 4X, according to the com-pany, which is based in Warrendale, Pennsyv-lania, near Pittsburgh.

The rue21 store has been in Longview since September 2009 and at its current location since November 2014.

Visit rue21.com for more information.

The Braid Bar opensPatricia McCoy, who has worked 11 years

in the cosmetology field, recently opened The Braid Bar at 414 E. Loop 281, Suite 23.

“Braid is commonly know as the ‘kitchen of hair styling,’” McCoy said. She said she did not want to name her salon a “lounge.”

The Braid Bar is open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily and after hours by appointment.

— Business Beat appears Sunday. If you have items for the column, email to newstip@news-journal.com; mail to Business Section, Longview News-Journal, P.O. box 1792, Longview, TX 75606; or call (903) 237-7744.

BUSINESS BEAT

BY SARAH SKIDMORE SELLAssociated Press

The majority of individual taxpayers in the U.S. are eligi-ble to file their taxes online for free, yet many may be unaware or confused by how to do so.

The tax industry and the IRS have played a part in the prob-lem. Together they run the IRS Free File system, which about 70% of taxpayers are eligible for but only a sliver use. It was designed to help low- and mid-dle-income taxpayers find a re-liable program to file at no cost and boost online filings. How-ever, the IRS has long faced criticism for its failure to pro-

mote and support the program. And recent media reports un-covered efforts by the tax soft-ware preparation industry to misguide users of Free File and nudge them into paid products.

Subsequently, improvements have been made and Free File should be easier to use in 2020. But, with tax season getting into full gear, users should know the details of the service and the alternatives.

QUESTION: What is Free File?

ANSWER: The IRS Free File program allows taxpayers whose adjusted gross income is $69,000 or less to file for free. Tax software prep companies

administer Free File via a part-nership with the IRS. This year, taxpayers have their choice of 10 providers, including well-known names such as Turbo-Tax, H&R Block and TaxSlayer.

Free File has been available since 2003; but while roughly 70% of taxpayers are eligible, only about 2% use the program, according to the National Tax-payer Advocate’s Office.

Q: Why the limited appeal?A: Critics say the program is

confusing and difficult to use. The process taxpayers must fol-low is “obscure and complex,” according to a report released earlier this month by the Trea-sury Inspector General for Tax

Administration.The program is also poorly

promoted. The IRS has not al-located any money to advertise Free File since 2014, although the agency does promote it on its website, social media and in press releases. For their part, some companies say they pro-mote the program. TurboTax said increased advertising and other efforts boosted Free File usage last year.

The Taxpayer Advocate, which represents the taxpay-er’s voice within the IRS, has been critical of the IRS’ man-agement of the program, say-ing it fails “to promote the best

Confused by free tax filing? Here’s help

BY KEN HEDLERkhedler@news-journal.com

A Dallas-based homebuild-er is making a bet on rental property in Longview with plans to build duplexes in South Longview and else-where in the city.

Ameritex Homes has ap-plied for permits to build 16 duplexes since December, with 13 of them filed over the past three weeks, according to data from Longview’s Devel-opment Services Department. The department also issued 10 permits in December and two

in January to Ameritex for construction of single-family homes.

Vance Wyly, Development Services office manager, said the permit applications from Ameritex are the most activi-ty he has seen for duplexes in the five years he has been on the job.

Ameritex Marketing Di-rector Shelby Onstot said the company “would most likely” rent the duplexes, as opposed to selling them to investors who in turn would rent them. She said Ameritex would probably hire a management company to operate the prop-erties.

The first duplex in Longview is scheduled to be ready by late spring, Ameritex said in a statement it issued in

response to submitted ques-tions. But it was vague about its larger intentions for the

Longview market.“Ameritex Homes’ vision is

Dallas homebuilder moves inAmeritex makes a bet on rental property with plans for 16 duplexes

Michael Cavazos/News-Journal File Photo

112 Pinebrook Place is one of the properties where Dallas-based home-builder Ameritex Homes hopes to build duplexes at in Longview.

LONGVIEW

BY GRANT SMITHBloomberg

Global oil demand will drop this quarter for the first time in over a decade as the coronavirus batters China’s economy, the Internation-al Energy Agency said.

The agency said that the conse-quences of the outbreak for oil de-mand “will be significant.”

The new estimates show that oil markets face a major surplus despite the latest production cuts by OPEC and its partners. The impact of the epidemic will be felt throughout the year, the agency said.

“Demand has been hit hard by the novel coronavirus and the widespread shutdown of China’s economy,” the Paris-based IEA said. “The crisis is ongoing and at this stage it is hard to be precise about the impact.”

World fuel consumption — which had previously been expect-ed to grow by 800,000 barrels a day during the three-month period, compared with a year earlier — will instead contract by 435,000 a day, the IEA said in its monthly oil market report.

For 2020 as a whole, the virus will curb annual growth in glob-al consumption by about 30%, to 825,000 barrels a day, the lowest since 2011. The effects will be more significant than those of the 2003 SARS epidemic because of China’s increased importance and integra-tion within the world economy.

The outbreak has shuttered businesses and prompted the quarantine of tens of millions of people in China, which imports the most crude in the world. The country accounted for about 75% of last year’s oil-demand growth, according to the IEA, which advis-es most major economies.

U.S. crude futures have fallen 17% this year as traders assessed the impact of the epidemic. Con-sumers are unlikely to bene-fit from the drop in fuel prices because the disease will inflict

Virus to blame for forecast fall in oil

BY DAVID J. LYNCHThe Washington Post

The economic casualties from China’s coronavirus

epidemic are mounting as Asian and European auto plants run short of parts, free-spending Chinese tourists stay home and American companies brace for unpredictable turbulence.

That’s just the start of a financial hangover expected to linger for months even if the flu-like illness is soon brought under control, economists and supply chain experts say. The Chinese epidemic’s aftereffects will likely cause the global economy to shrink this quarter for the first time since the depths of the 2009 financial crisis, according to Capital Economics in London.

Chinese factories had been scheduled to reopen last Monday after a Lunar New Year holiday that al-ready had been extended for several days because of the medical scare. But with many workers unable or unwilling to re-turn to employers located in a sprawling quarantine region, the resumption of routine operations in many workplaces has been delayed.

Caterpillar this week said most of its Chinese

suppliers had returned to work. But Foxconn, a major electronics produc-er for Apple, said it will be the end of the month before even half of its facilities are operating.

The country’s links to the outside world, mean-while, remain frayed. Both United Airlines and American Airlines said they would not resume normal service to main-land China until April 24,

Fallout MountsEconomic impact of coronavirus increasingly felt across the globe

Yuyang Liu/The New York Times File Photo

An empty road is seen near Yuyuan Garden, a usually-bustling tourist attraction in central Shanghai, last week. The coronavirus outbreak in China has generated economic waves that are rocking global commodities markets and disrupting the supply networks that act as the backbone of the global economy.

AP File Photo

Workers watch a container ship arrive at a port Feb. 4 in Qingdao in east China’s Shandong province. Factories across China are still closed to try to limit spread of the coronavi-rus, leaving business owners in limbo.

See OIL, Page 2E

See HOMEBUILDER, Page 2E

See FILING, Page 4E

See IMPACT, Page 4E

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