The county collects SALES TAX on every item sold at Marcella's.    If Marcella's had moved its operations
OUT of the county than we would have lost the sales tax revenue.

Given the volume of sales of Marcella's,  the amount of sales tax revenue that they generate for the
county is substantial.    In this case, I whole-heartedly believe that a pilot was worth it to keep a
regionally popular retail establishment in the county.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

The county collects SALES TAX on every item sold at Marcella's.    If Marcella's had moved its operations OUT of the county than we would have lost the sales tax revenue.

Marcella's could have moved to Rotterdam, Glenville and kept the sales tax still in the County. County sales tax is the money you and I are charged each time we buy an appliance, simply put, it's our money going back into the County.

On the other hand, the property taxes contribute directly to the City. Marcellas at 560 Broadway is assessed at $2,275,300 and is tax exempt from 2010 until 2019. Nine years of loss directly to the City.

Villa Italia down the road assessed at $815,500 is tax exempt from 2006 until ?. Maybe they will NEVER pay taxes....

Likewise the Alliance Party member Brian Merriam's building at 376 Broadway assessed at $2,210,500 is tax exempt from 2006 until ?. Again, not stated.

DV, one tax exemption year to keep a business in the City is fine. But to have a ROW of businesses on Broadway exempt for years is extremely detrimental to every taxpayer in the City. Marcellas is getting nine years of tax free services from the City for pennies on the dollar of sales tax. Not quite a fair trade.

The DEMS have frozen the City's share of sales tax at 2000 levels. Any increase will go to the towns-a double whammy for the City which loses all property tax revenue. Multiple this by 100 times and you have a $12 MILLION City deficit. Since they moved from Crane to Broadway this hardly improved anything.

     What DVR fails to disclose is that Marcella's is DEM business of the year. Who said they were leaving the County? In fact they didn't want to leave Mt Pleasant-they were made an offer by Death Ray they couldn't refuse. Welcome to Gillengrad-screw you.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

The county collects SALES TAX on every item sold at Marcella's.    If Marcella's had moved its operations
OUT of the county than we would have lost the sales tax revenue.

This has to be the stupidest thing I've heard from you yet.  Marcella's is an APPLIANCE STORE. Sears, Home Depot, Lowes and other stores sell GE, Whirlpool, and other name brand appliances.  If Marcella's moved out of Schenectady County, people would have purchased their appliances at other stores that sell the same appliances within the county.  Who would have lost out if Marcella's moved out of Schenectady? MARCELLA'S! Marcella's is a household name in Schenectady County, I doubt that if they moved to Saratoga County or another surrounding county, they would have the same customer loyatly and name recognition that they established in Schenectady.  

NO SALES TAX WOULD BE LOST IF MARCELLA'S LEFT SCHENECTADY - JUST COLLECTED BY ANOTHER APPLIANCE RETAIL STORE WITHIN SCHENECTADY.

Quoted from CICERO

This has to be the stupidest thing I've heard from you yet.

       It's even dumber than that. If the appliance is delivered the store NO MATTER WHAT COUNTY it's located in must charge the buyers County sales tax. If someone went to the Colonie store from Rotterdam and wanted a washer delivered the higher Schenectady sales tax {with Metrograft tax} must be charged under State law.

The FACT is that Marcella's could have moved out of the county -- and that would have been a loss to the
county.   The benefit of the sales tax revenue and the customer traffic that it brings into downtown Schenectady
are BOTH huge benefits.
When the GOP ran the county, small businesses were either dying or fleeing the county.  Thank God that the
Democrats have taken over and are turning things around.   And all the RepubliCAN'Ts can do is cry in their
hot cocoa.

Small business is thriving under the DEM record tax burden? ROTFLMAO!! Tell that to Kabul Nights-another shuttered business in the joke A&DD {Arts and Drunks District}. This joins WineDown and the Italian joint closed a block away. A few pigging out paying zilch while the vast majority of small businesses are crushed.

     Small businesses have been closing in droves because of DEM self dealing and non profit give aways like the Key Bank debacle. How come City revenues are tanking under DEM "working together" efforts? Wait until you see the County taxes next year if this moronic County Home isn't stopped.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

The county collects SALES TAX on every item sold at Marcella's.    If Marcella's had moved its operations
OUT of the county than we would have lost the sales tax revenue.

Given the volume of sales of Marcella's,  the amount of sales tax revenue that they generate for the
county is substantial.    In this case, I whole-heartedly believe that a pilot was worth it to keep a
regionally popular retail establishment in the county.

Uh, the business does NOT generate sales tax revenue, the consumer pays the sales tax on it ON TOP OF PAYING THEIR PROPERTY TAXES !!!!!!!!!!!!!   Duh, no brains at all.

And uh, they had a busines on Crane St.  They could have stayed there and saved the taxpayers money.  But no, they can move off the crime infested Crane St and then hae their property and school taxes 100% totally EXEMPT from paying taxes.

What about the homeowners who live in the crime infested Crane St area, when are they going to be able to to move to a nicer location, a safer neighborhood and be exeempt from paying their property taxes.  Well??????

Schenectady (city) residents IF they buy from Marcella's will pay TAX ON TOP OF TAX, so Schenectady residents are DOUBLE TAXED.   But if we go to Home Depot, or Sears, or Lowes we will pay only the sale tax.   But then are still stuck with paying the property taxes.  Non city residents are paying the sales tax AND the county property taxes for Marcella's.

Marcella's does NOT forward sales tax income for Schenectady county's benefit IF the purchaser does not live in Schenectady county!  For example, if someone is a resident of Saratoga Co and makes a purchase at Marcella's, Schenectady DOES NOT GET THE TAX REVENUE !!!!!!!!!!!    A Schdy resident pays 8% sales tax on a purchase at Marcellas.  A Clifton Park resident pays 7% sales tas on a purchase made at Marcellas.  When a business such as Marcella's does their reporting to the state tax dept for sales tax, that purchase will be reported as Saratoga Co and that county sales tax share will go to Saratoga Co.    

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

The FACT is that Marcella's could have moved out of the county -- and that would have been a loss to the
county.   The benefit of the sales tax revenue and the customer traffic that it brings into downtown Schenectady
are BOTH huge benefits.
When the GOP ran the county, small businesses were either dying or fleeing the county.  Thank God that the
Democrats have taken over and are turning things around.   And all the RepubliCAN'Ts can do is cry in their
hot cocoa.

WRONG.    If Marcella's moved out of the county, Schenectady would receive EXACTLY THE SAME AMOUNT OF SALES TAX from the Schenectady resident.  

It does NOT matter if I go to Marcella's on Crane St, on Broadway, or they moved to Albany Co, Saratoga co, or even out of state.  The sales tax is calculated on where you live !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And when someone does buy an appliance there, they are not going to be going downtown because there is NOTHING to buy there (except Rudnicks, but people who buy there don't go there ONLY because they stop elsewhere, they shop there because the business has been around for a long time....and WITHOUT TAXPAYER HANDOUTS)

For the record I am not against incentives - including some incentives to keep Marcella's downtown.

The issue is the amount of the incentive.

And in this case - does this new building help them take away from other local business - such as Towne TV in Rotterdam (who are really stand-up people by the way)...

I have a lot of loyalty to vendors who have treated me so well, and it kind of irks me that one of my favorite suppliers can "lose out" a bit because Marcella's got such a sweetheart deal.

Actually, there are a lot of fine businesses in downtown.   Not as many as there were in the 1960's and
early 1970's ... but certainly more than what 12 years of GOP mayors and too many years of a GOP
controlled county leg left us with.

As for Rudnick's, they are ok ... certainly not one of the places that I shop at .. maybe they need to
promote themselves more and/or update their product offerings.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

Actually, there are a lot of fine businesses in downtown.   Not as many as there were in the 1960's and
early 1970's ... but certainly more than what 12 years of GOP mayors and too many years of a GOP
controlled county leg left us with.

As for Rudnick's, they are ok ... certainly not one of the places that I shop at .. maybe they need to
promote themselves more and/or update their product offerings.

The problem is, when there was NOTHING downtown, the taxpayers lost out on businesses paying property taxes (decreasing the tax base). Now there ARE businesses downtown and the tax base hasn't changed...actually it's a hell of alot worse?!

The only thing those downtown businesses are helping is themselves -not the City, not the taxpaying homeowners- NOTHING! The homeowners are footing the bill for the new downtown sidewalks, lighting, snowplowing, police and fire safety, etc. The downtown businesses received millions in grants through Metroplex (our county taxes) and now they are sucking the life out of the Schenectady City taxpayers...and for years of tax exemptions!

The deals made through Metroplex should all be reviewed by the Legislature in 2011. There should be a comparison of how much 'sales tax' revenue is being generated as opposed to the monies being spent by the City to help these downtown operate. The taxpayers deserve an honest assessment.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

The county collects SALES TAX on every item sold at Marcella's.    If Marcella's had moved its operations
OUT of the county than we would have lost the sales tax revenue.

Given the volume of sales of Marcella's,  the amount of sales tax revenue that they generate for the
county is substantial.    In this case, I whole-heartedly believe that a pilot was worth it to keep a
regionally popular retail establishment in the county.

WRONG !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The county does NOT collect the sales tax !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!    Businesses pay the sales tax to the state!  

And the tax on items purchase at Marcellas is based on where people LIVE!    If a person who lives in Clifton Park (Saratoga Co), came to Marcella's when they were on Crane St to purchase a refrigerator, then Marcellas would charge them 7% sales tax -- NYS sales tax and SARATOGA Co sales tax combined.   If that person who lives in Clifton Park came to Marcella's today, at their new location on Broadway, then Marcella's would charge them THE SAME 7% sales tax !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!    

That PROVES that in return for the HUGE taxpayer subsidy to build the place, AND in return for now the financially struggling homeowners paying the property and school taxes on Marcella's, NOT ONE EXTRA PENNY is coming to Schenectady.  

I live in Schenectady Co.  If I buy at Marcella's, I pay 8% sales tax -- NYS sales tax and Schenectady Co sales tax.

If Marcella's moved to Albany and I went to their store there and bought something, I would pay 8% sales tax -- NYS sales tax and Schenectady co sales tax (even though Marcella's is in Albany and I make the purchase in Albany.

If Marcell's moved to Saratoga Co, and I went to their store there and bought something.  I would pay 8% sales tax - NOT 7% !!!!!!!!!!    I would pay 4% county sales tax for Schenectady, NOT the 3% for Saratoga Co!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sales tax rates are charged BASED ON WHERE YOU LIVE!    

We bought

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

Actually, there are a lot of fine businesses in downtown.   Not as many as there were in the 1960's and
early 1970's ... but certainly more than what 12 years of GOP mayors and too many years of a GOP
controlled county leg left us with.

As for Rudnick's, they are ok ... certainly not one of the places that I shop at .. maybe they need to
promote themselves more and/or update their product offerings.

Well, you might not shop at Rudnicks, but obviously many people do.  How else could they last so many decades?   And they didn't get any tax exemptions.

Republican mayor did NOT give 100% tax exemptions, only partial temporary tax exemptions which still is NOT good, NOT good when homeowners have to pay the taxes.  The dems DID gave all the newer business 100% exemptions.

And what about the 150% tax exemption for Bombers with all the brawls????    Obviously the homeowners in the city, struggling financially, struggling to pay their own taxes and you think they are supposed to pay Bombers taxes AND give Bombers a check ever year for 50% of the tax?

The fact is that downtown Schenectady has turned the corner from being an empty, near-death city center
to an area that is growing and thriving.  
A number of years ago, I worked at the Carl Company downtown .. downtown was squalid and dying .. now
it is experiencing a renaissance -- and is filled with new life.
I'd much rather be on the road we are on now than to be back where we were under GOP mayors.