Acura Dealer Seeking $750k Sales Tax Rebate To Help With Store Renovation

An Acura dealership in Illinois is asking the city for a rebate on sales tax in order to help cover the cost of manufacturer required real estate upgrades. Ed Napleton Acura is asking the city of Elmhurst to rebate their sales tax. They want to remodel to get their rooftop up to automaker requirements. According to the Chicago Tribune, the dealership is “asking the city (of Elmhurst) to rebate 60 percent of any growth in sales taxes generated by the dealership over the base year of 2014.”

This dealership reportedly already has one sales tax rebate in place. One hurdle for the dealership to overcome is that another dealership asked the city for a tax rebate, they gave it, but the store moved out of town sooner than the agreed upon five years. That dealership, Lucky Motors, was rebated $145,000.

Katie Napleton, project manager at Napleton Auto Group, told the Chicago Tribune, “Acura came up with a new program to encourage all their dealers to upgrade. They financially penalize you if you stay status quo.” Napleton meet with the city finance committee on Sept. 14 to discuss the proposed sales tax growth rebate.

The Napleton Auto Group has two rooftops on the same property in Elmhurst, and Acura and Kia store. The Kia store has a 10-year agreement with the city, which began back in 2014 and was intended for upgrades to their facility also because of manufacturer requirements. The two stores operate under the same tax number. Between the two stores, the Kia rooftop generates 70 percent of sales under that tax number. Napleton Acura is asking for $750,000 in sales tax rebates over 10 years.

Does your store operate with a sales tax rebate agreement with your local city government? Do you feel this type of rebate is an effective method of helping a dealership afford an automaker-required renovation? Finally, do you feel that automaker remodeling happens too often or do you find it properly spaced out over time?