Ordinance 71088

Summary

Overall Purpose/Reasons for the Board Bill This Board Bill will facilitate personal property tax abatement and sales and use tax exemption incentives in connection with Square, Inc.’s expansion of its St. Louis operations, which includes the creation of more than 250 jobs and the relocation of Square’s St. Louis offices to the former Post-Dispatch building located at 900 N. Tucker Boulevard. What the Board Bill Will Do This Board Bill will authorize an industrial revenue bond transaction that will facilitate the following incentives: • 10 years of personal property tax abatement (75% abatement in years 1 – 5; 50% abatement in years 6 – 10); • Sales and use tax exemption on the purchase of personal property; and • Sales and use tax exemption on the purchase of construction materials used for tenant improvements The industrial revenues bonds will be purchased by Square and will be payable only from lease revenues paid by Square, and not from any City tax revenues. The City approved similar industrial revenue bond transactions for Anheuser Busch in 2018 (Ordinance No. 70921), in 2017 for Huvepharma (Ordinance No. 70590), and in 2015 for Square’s initial expansion into St. Louis (Ordinance No. 70132). The Main Components of the Board Bill The Board Bill (1) approves a Plan for an Industrial Development Project, which is attached as Exhibit A to the Board Bill, as is required by Chapter 100, RSMo. for this type of incentive, and (2) authorizes the issuance of the industrial revenue bonds to facilitate the above-described incentives. The Impact of the Board Bill to the Community The Board Bill will incentivize Square to create invest approximately $45 - $50 million in the City and create more than 250 jobs. A Cost/Benefit Analysis describing the financial impacts of the tax incentives on the various taxing districts is included in Exhibit A to the Board Bill and will be sent to each of the taxing districts, as required by Chapter 100, RSMo.

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