BELLEVILLE – Belleville’s first-ever cannabis dispensary will get a portion of their local taxes paid back to them after City Council members this week unanimously approved a sales tax rebate for the business.
Mystic Greenz has a dispensary located at 360 S. Green Mount Road in Belleville. It marks the city’s first-ever cannabis dispensary, joining many other Riverbend communities which have welcomed dispensaries – and their sales tax revenues – in recent years.
The company behind this Mystic Greenz location, Indus 365 Belleville LLC, has promised annual cannabis sales of at least $3.5 million in addition to a $1.2 million investment in remodeling the building. They have also agreed to create six full-time jobs and two part-time jobs within a year of opening, as well as operate at the site for at least five years.
In return for this projected revenue, and to incentivize the building remodel, the city has agreed to pay the dispensary back one-third of the 3% sales tax the dispensary normally pays to the city. These rebates are capped at $100,000 per year and will stop after five years, or once $300,000 worth of rebates have been returned.
If the dispensary reaches its annual sales goals, they would normally pay the city a 3% tax of $105,000. Under the new agreement, a third of that tax, amounting to $34,650, would be taken off the total – meaning the dispensary would pay $70,350.
If Mystic Greenz fails to meet the terms of the agreement – including its projected sales numbers, jobs created, and minimum years in business – the dispensary will be forced to pay the city back for all sales tax revenue it was reimbursed under the agreement.
With no discussion or debate, the Belleville City Council voted unanimously to approve the agreement, granting Mystic Greenz a 3% sales tax rebate from the City of Belleville.
