The Dublin City Council unanimously approved the creation of a Sales Tax Reimbursement Program on Tuesday night to encourage recruit new businesses that generate at least $100K/year of new net sales tax revenue per year. Existing businesses that add at least $100K of incremental net sales tax revenue by expanding or relocating within Dublin will also be eligible for the program. Essentially, businesses will receive up to a 0.5% sales tax credit to cover the cost of improvements to their property. There has been some concern that Dublin might be giving away too much. However, as some have noted, 50% of $100K is better than 100% of $0.

This program should help to kick-start the re-development of the Downtown Dublin district (e.g., the Mervyn’s and Circuit City buildings) and the Promenade (tenant improvements within the existing structures built by the developer). Councilmember Don Biddle complimented Dublin’s Assistant City Manager Chris Foss for moving so quickly to bring back a fully designed sales tax incentive program within less than a month after Mayor Sbranti and other members of the City Council directed City Staff to evaluate various economic incentive programs.

It is important to note that the City Council will need to approve the individual sales tax reimbursement programs for each business that moves to (or expands within) Dublin and there is a 2-year “sunset” provision for the overall program. This will allow the City Council to evaluate the success of the program and decide if it should be extended. City Manager Joni Pattillo noted that this program not only will help to attract businesses to Dublin, but it will also help to fortify Dublin’s image as a business-friendly city. We are a City committed to bolstering our local economy despite the dire predictions of the media.