Payroll, human resources and tax filing services provider Inova Payroll today announced a new sales office in Greenville, S.C., and hinted that more expansions are coming soon. 

“The addition of the Greenville, S.C., office supports Inova’s strategic expansion efforts,” Farsheed Ferdowsi, Inova president and CEO, said in a news release. “By providing local sales and support services, we can stay true to our commitment to excellent customer care. The company expects to announce additional office expansions in the near future as we strive to meet the needs of our rapidly growing client base and geographic reach.”

Sales consultant Donna Lollis (pictured) has been assigned to cover the newly expanded territory, which also includes Mauldin, Spartanburg, Lexington, Columbia, Charleston, Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head and Anderson.

Murfreesboro's MidSouth Bank has partnered with young payroll services company Inova Payroll to offer the latter's suite of HR services to its business customers through its five branches. Inova was launched last year by industry veteran Farsheed Ferdowsi and focuses on small to mid-sized companies.

“Staying true to our roots as a community bank, MidSouth Bank is committed to helping our business clients succeed by offering a full range of business banking services. Through our alliance with Inova Payroll, business owners can work with a local company and get the personalized service they have come to expect,” said Lee Moss, Chairman and CEO of MidSouth Bank.

Pinnacle Financial Partners has signed a deal to offer its business clients the payroll processing services of CompuPay, the Florida-based company that in 2005 acquired PayMaxx and still runs a large office in Franklin.

Payroll processor Inova has recruited veteran sales manager Chad Mountain to lead its push into East Tennessee. The company was launched earlier this year and has secured more than $4 million in growth capital.

"That sounds like a form of political tax evasion," said Ben Chao, campaign manager for Bob Tuke, Padgett's chief rival in the Democratic primary. Under federal tax law, campaigns are treated as if they were companies when they hire staff. That means the campaigns must pay payroll taxes for Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance. On the other hand, no taxes need be paid for the services of an independent contractor. A review of the most recently filed FEC disclosures for Senate candidates, covering a three-month period ending June 30, shows that Tuke's campaign paid almost $18,000 in payroll taxes for a dozen employees.

Given the description of Padgett on his blog of Jake traveling all across Tennessee with him (and I don't think I've ever seen Padgett without him), that would likely constitute an employee under IRS rules. Having said that, spokeswoman Terry Quillen isn't exactly wrong when she states that this happens all the time in political campaigns, however, the "everyone else is doing it" defense isn't always appreciated by Government agencies.