Small businesses protest proposed Sam's Club #brownfields tax break

Source: Tampa Bay Times, M. Van Sickler
6/7/12

ST. PETERSBURG — Despite mounting criticism of a proposed tax break for a Sam's Club that is nearing completion along 34th Street, there is strong support for the perk among City Council members and Mayor Bill Foster. The eight-member board will vote during an 8:30 a.m. meeting today at City Hall on whether Sam's Club's corporate parent, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., is eligible for the $240,000 tax credit. "There's no reason to deny them," said Foster. "This is a good project." Council members would need to classify the 14-acre site on 34th Street as a "brownfield" area, an official designation that means the land is so contaminated — or is at least perceived that way — that tax incentives are needed to entice development. This particular incentive would provide developers up to a $2,500 tax refund for each job created.

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