Contest 2022

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ezTaxReturn.com “Share Your Story” Contest (“Contest”)

OFFICIAL RULES

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.

SPONSOR: This Contest is sponsored by ezTaxReturn.com, 111 Town Square Place, Suite 1203, Jersey City, NJ 07310 (“Sponsor”).

ELIGIBILITY:  The Contest is open only to current customers (someone who used ezTaxReturn.com to do their previous year’s taxes) of Sponsor who are: 1) legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia; 2) the age of majority in their state or district of residence at the time of entry; and 3) are service workers (i.e., bartenders, wait staff, etc.) who rely on tips for a living wage. Employees or compensated affiliates of Sponsor and its parent companies, affiliates, franchisees, sales representatives, distributors, agents, and vendors involved with this Contest, and the immediate family and household members of all such employees and compensated affiliates, are not eligible to enter or win. Contest is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations. Void where prohibited by law.

TIMING/ENTRY LIMITS: The Contest begins at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on October 7, 2022 and ends at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on October 21, 2022 (the “Entry Period”).  All Entries must be received before the end of the Entry Period to be eligible.  Sponsor’s computer clock is the official timekeeper for the Contest, and Entries are not valid until the information is received by Sponsor’s computer.

HOW TO ENTER: To enter, during the Entry Period, submit a written story to news@eztaxreturn.com which answers the question “What’s it like relying on tips to earn a living wage?” in fewer than 1,000 words and meets the below requirements. Only one Entry per person.  All submitted content must be original to the entrant.

By entering, you agree that Entries and any information collected in connection with the Contest may be used by Sponsor for the intended purpose and as otherwise outlined herein. All Entry information must be manually keystroked by the entrant and include a valid Email Account (“Account”).  In the event of dispute as to the identity or eligibility of the winners based on the Account, or if more than one person uses the same Account, the winning entries will be declared the “Authorized Account Holders” of the Accounts submitted at the time of the Entries, unless agreed otherwise.  The “Authorized Account Holders” are the persons to whom the applicable Internet service provider has assigned the Accounts. We expressly reserve the right to disqualify any Entries that we believe in good faith are generated by an automated program or via scripts or via any other means that are fraudulent or not allowed by these Official Rules.  By participating, all entrants agree to abide by these Official Rules. 

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS: All submitted materials become the property of Sponsor and will not be returned or acknowledged. Any materials that are inappropriate or offensive in Sponsor’s sole discretion or otherwise violate the terms of these Official Rules may be destroyed, and the corresponding Entry may be disqualified in Sponsor’s sole discretion.

• Entries must not contain material that is inappropriate, indecent, harassing, contain profanity or obscene content; hateful content of any kind; content that promotes violence or harm to another living creature; or any other offensive content (as deemed such by Sponsor in its sole discretion).
• Entries must not contain advertisements, personal or commercial solicitations; or promote any political agenda or party.
• Entries should not promote any brand or product owned by an entity other than Sponsor.
• Entries must be in keeping with Sponsor’s image and not contain any material that could reflect negatively on the name, reputation or goodwill of Sponsor, its subsidiaries or affiliates.
• Entries must not violate or encourage the violation of any law, rule or regulation.

PRIZES AND APPROXIMATE RETAIL VALUE: Two prizes in the form of $50 Amazon gift cards will be awarded based on the judging criteria outlined below.

Prizes are non-transferable and no substitution or cash equivalent is allowed except in Sponsor’s sole discretion.  Sponsor reserves the right to substitute prize(s) of the same approximate retail value.  Prizes consist only of the items specifically listed as part of the final prizes.  Certain conditions and restrictions may apply. All costs and expenses not specified herein, related to any prizes or incurred by accepting the prize(s), are the sole responsibility of the winner(s).  Any elements of the prize(s) or awarding of the prize(s) that are not specifically outlined herein will be determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion.

JUDGING: Shortly following the end of the Entry Period, all Entries will be judged by judges qualified to analyze the below weighted criteria. In the case of a three-way tie, the Entries with the highest percentage numbers in the “Most Compelling” category will be considered the winners.  If there is still a three-way tie, independent judges will be chosen to grade the tied Entries and determine the final two winners.

Judging Criteria

50% Most Compelling in Demonstrating the Importance of Tips to Your Income.

25% Quality (grammar, composition, structure) of Entry.

25% Creativity of Entry. 

Potential winning entrants will be contacted via email response to their Account approximately one month after the end of the Entry Period. The potential winner(s) must reply to the winner notification from Sponsor within forty-eight (48) hours of the first attempt to contact the potential winner(s) to claim the prize(s). It is the responsibility of the potential winner(s) to maintain and monitor the Account so they can be contacted within the required timeframe.

If any notification or prize(s) is/are returned as undeliverable, a requested response is not received by Sponsor in the required timeframe or the original winner(s) is/are deemed ineligible for any reason, the original winner(s) may forfeit the prize(s) in its/their entirety and the Entry with the next highest score may be selected as potential winner(s). The potential winner(s) may be required to complete and return an affidavit of eligibility, liability release, publicity release (if not prohibited by law), agreement governing the terms of the grant, and any other necessary documents, the subsequent use of all stories and any post-contest advertisements (collectively the “Documents”).  If any of the requested Documents are not validly executed and returned within the time specified in the Documents, the prize(s) may be forfeited in its/their entirety and alternate winner(s) may be selected as outlined above.  Award of prize(s) and confirmation of winner(s) is contingent upon potential winner’s qualification and compliance with these Official Rules.

PUBLICITY RELEASE:  Except where prohibited, participation in this Contest and acceptance of a prize constitutes entrant’s and winner’s consent that their name, likeness, posts, photos, stories, comments, voice and/or biographical data may be used in any medium for advertising and promotional purposes without limitation and without additional notice, compensation or consent. 

LIABILITY LIMITATIONS/MISCELLANEOUS: If for any reason the Contest is not capable of running as planned, including without limitation disruptions caused by any device, computer, virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, acts of God, factors beyond Sponsor’s reasonable control, or any other cause that corrupts, affects or compromises the administration, security, fairness, integrity, proper conduct or intended play of the Contest, Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to disqualify any individual that Sponsor deems responsible.  In such situations, Sponsor further reserves the right, but shall have no obligation, to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest, and may substitute an appropriate alternate method of prize award selection, including to award the prizes from among all valid and eligible entries received up to the time the Contest was interrupted. 

The Contest and all of the related pages, contents and code, and the copyright therein, are the property of Sponsor. Copying or unauthorized use of any copyrighted materials, trademarks or any other intellectual property without the express written consent of its owner is strictly prohibited.

Sponsor assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications failure, theft, destruction or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, entries, including any erroneous appearance of qualification for a prize.  Sponsor is not responsible for any problem or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers or provider, computer equipment, software, failure of any e-mail or entry to be received by Sponsor due to technical problem or traffic, congestion on the internet or at any web site, or any combination thereof, including any injury or damage to participant’s or any other person’s computer related to or resulting from participation or downloading any materials in this Contest.  ANY ATTEMPT BY ANY PERSON TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEB SITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THIS CONTEST IS A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FROM ANY SUCH PERSON TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. 

LIABILITY RELEASE: By entering, entrant agrees to accept and abide by the rules of this Contest and agrees that any dispute with regard to the conduct of this Contest, rule interpretation or award of a prize, shall be resolved by Sponsor, whose decisions shall be binding and final. 

By participating, entrant agrees to release and hold harmless Sponsor, Facebook, related promotional retail partners and each of their respective parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, franchisees, service agencies, independent contractors, and the officers, directors, employees, agents and representatives of any of the above organizations from any injury, loss or damage to person, including but not limited to death or property damage due in-whole or in-part, directly or indirectly to the acceptance, use, or misuse of a prize, participation in any Contest-related activity, or participation in the Contest. 

This Contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by or associated with Instagram, Twitter or Facebook. Entrants are providing their personal information to Sponsor, and not to Instagram, Twitter or Facebook. The information provided will be used as indicated by the Sponsor herein and in accordance with any applicable privacy policy.

DISPUTE RESOLUTION/CHOICE OF LAW: Issues concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules shall be governed by the laws of the State of New Jersey. All disputes arising out of or connected with this Contest will be resolved individually, and without resort to class action, exclusively by the appropriate federal or New Jersey State Court. Should there be a conflict between the laws of the State of New Jersey and any other laws, the conflict will be resolved in favor of the laws of the State of New Jersey. All judgments or awards shall be limited to actual incurred out-of-pocket expenses (excluding attorneys’ fees) associated with participation in this Contest and shall not include any indirect, punitive, incidental and/or consequential damages.

WINNER’S LIST:  The name of the prize winners will be announced on Sponsor’s social media channels following the end of the Contest.  For the name of the winners or if you have any questions about the Contest, please contact Sponsor at news@eztaxreturn.com.