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Sep 3, 2008 10:02 am US/Central

Cook County Board Mulls Tax Rebate For Retailers

Commissioners Worried About Businesses Setting Up Outside County

CHICAGO (STNG) ― Cook County retailers who've seen profits slump after the recent sales tax increase could score a huge sales tax break under a proposal aimed at keeping businesses from setting up shop across the county line.

The ordinance calls for creating "economic development incentives" to offer qualifying businesses a rebate of up to 50 percent on the county portion of their sales tax to boost sales and create new jobs.

Commissioner Larry Sufferedin (D-13th) -- who voted to increase county property taxes by 1 percentage point -- and commissioners Peter Silvestri (R-9th) and Gregg Goslin (R-14th) -- who voted against the tax increase -- authored the proposal to be introduced at Wednesday's Cook County board meeting.

"We have to encourage businesses to stay here," Silvestri said. "This is necessary because we don't want to encourage businesses to move further west or north or in the south suburbs to the next state. We recognize the potential detrimental effect the sales tax can have on bordering towns."

The ordinance is modeled on sales tax rebates offered to businesses in Glenview. The Cook County sales tax rebate would be a "dollar-for-dollar" match of what local towns offer, up to half of the county's share of sales taxes.