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Committee advances package to rebate earnings tax on new Anders employees to keep accounting firm downtown
Summary
The HUD committee advanced Board Bill 166 in committee with a committee substitute that would create a rebate of earnings tax on net-new employees hired by Anders, a downtown accounting firm that says it will expand in the city if given a payroll-tax incentive.
The Housing, Urban Development and Zoning Committee moved a proposal, Board Bill 166, from committee with a committee substitute that would rebate up to 85% of the City of St. Louis earnings tax on payroll attributable to new employees added by Anders, a downtown accounting firm seeking to expand.
Sponsor Alderwoman Kara Spencer told the committee Anders has grown from about 200 to roughly 225 employees and plans to add up to roughly 234 new jobs over 10 years while making a planned capital investment of about $2.2 million in its downtown leased space. Greater St. Louis Inc. testified that downtown office vacancy is elevated compared with the broader region and that keeping or growing office employers in the city is a key economic goal; the agency said private investors have pledged matching capital if the city invests in downtown revitalization.
The committee substitute tightens eligibility and reporting rules, limits the rebate to net new employees (excluding growth from mergers or acquisitions), and includes performance thresholds: applicants must reach a minimum number of new, higher‑paid positions before benefits apply, and the rebate operates as a reimbursement rather than an upfront abatement. Anders’ representatives said the firm has repeatedly committed to staying downtown and that at least one building they occupy is in receivership, making the firm’s continued lease a factor in whether the structure’s condition would worsen if the employer left.
Committee members pressed for safeguards: how the city would verify new jobs and wages, how long the program would run (the sponsor said a ten‑year period was contemplated), and how the rebate would avoid subsidizing a firm that simply acquires another company and counts those employees as new. The committee substitute incorporates an explicit exclusion for employees gained through mergers, added after discussions with the sponsor’s office and staff.
Public comment included local business leaders and development advocates who said the incentive could catalyze downtown reinvestment; other members of the public urged caution about forgoing earnings-tax revenue for incentives and said the city should prioritize resident needs including schools and public safety.
The committee recorded support for the committee substitute in a roll call and later voted to forward Board Bill 166 with a due-pass recommendation; the measure will next go to the full Board of Aldermen.
Why it matters: The earnings tax is the city’s significant recurring revenue source. Programs that rebate a portion of new earnings-tax revenue aim to preserve downtown employers and encourage local hiring, but reduce near-term tax receipts and require careful scoring of net new jobs and safeguards against subsidy of mergers.
What’s next: The committee passed the measure to the full Board with a due-pass recommendation. City staff and the sponsor’s office will need to finalize eligibility, monitoring, reporting and clawback provisions for the full Board’s consideration.
