LONG BEACH : City to Offer Store Sales Tax Incentive
The City Council has decided to offer an Orange County auto parts company a partial refund of sales tax collections as an incentive to open an outlet store and service center in the city.
Long Beach will refund half of the annual sales tax revenues above $50,000 that it receives from Fountain Valley-based Auto Expo for the next 15 years if the company agrees to build a store at the southeast corner of Redondo Avenue and Willow Street, said Susan F. Shick, the city’s director of community development.
Auto Expo projects $20 million in sales a year for its first five years in operation, according to documents from the Department of Community Development. If that estimate proves accurate, the city would receive $200,000 a year and refund $75,000 to Auto Expo.
The city estimates that the 50,000-square-foot store will create about 35 jobs. The company operates stores in Fountain Valley and San Bernardino.
Tax refunds are part of an overall strategy to compete with other cities for large retailers, Shick said. HomeBase and Food 4 Less opened Long Beach stores in the last year after receiving similar inducements.
