Explanation
BACKGROUND: The City of Columbus (“CITY”) entered into a Job Creation Tax Credit Agreement (hereinafter “AGREEMENT”) with Ascena Retail Group, Inc., (also referred to as the “GRANTEE”) effective September 26, 2013. Columbus City Council approved the AGREEMENT by Ordinance No. 1517-2013, adopted July 1, 2013 and granted a non-refundable tax credit allowed against the tax imposed under Section 361.09, “New Profits” of the Columbus City Codes (the “City Tax Credit”) of sixty percent (60%) of the new income tax revenue received by the CITY for a calendar year for New Employees, as defined in Section 4 of the AGREEMENT, commencing January 1, 2014 and for seven (7) consecutive years thereafter (January 1, 2014 through December 31, 2020), based on a proposed investment of approximately $200,000 to relocate its shared services real estate professionals division from out-of-state to Columbus creating 15 new full-time permanent positions with an estimated annual payroll of approximately $1.93 million (the “PROJECT”) at 3344 Morse Crossing Columbus, Ohio 43219, (the “PROJECT SITE”).
In a letter from the GRANTEE received by the CITY and through ensuing correspondence, the GRANTEE indicated that the aforementioned expansion project was restructured and realigned with a new corporate strategy. The GRANTEE has requested from the CITY to add Lane Bryant, Inc. and Lane Bryant Purchasing Corp. as additional grantees to the AGREEMENT. Subsequent to signing the AGREEMENT, a reconfigured corporate strategy created additional entities to correspond to the company’s overall strategy and those employees, both retained and new, will receive payroll compensation through these related entities. This restructuring and realignment includes an investment of approximately $1.2 million in leasehold improvements, which includes computer hardware and software upgrades, creating 50 new full-time permanent positions with an annual payroll of approximately $5.0 million and retain...
Click here for full text