Angel Investor Tax Credit supports Delaware’s #7 spot in national science and tech index

(Wilmington, Delaware) With more than 60 percent of Fortune 500 companies registered in Delaware, the small state has historically punched above its weight in innovation.  It is increasingly being recognized as a hub for innovative science and tech start-ups.  It just garnered the #7 spot in the Milken Institute’s State Technology and Science Index (STSI) in part because of its new angel investor tax credit.

The Milken Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank focused on increasing global prosperity, has been publishing the STSI since 2002.  It evaluates each state by multiple factors, including science and technology capabilities and broader commercialization ecosystems that contribute to firm expansion, high-skills job creation, and broad economic growth.

One key factor in Delaware’s rise in the STSI from #10 to # 7 is its new tax credit bill, the Angel Investor Job Creation and Innovation Act for Small Technology Companies, signed into law by Governor John Carney in 2018.  The bill provides a refundable tax credit for qualified investors in innovative, small Delaware-based businesses.

ELIGIBLE BUSINESSES

• Focus on qualified high-technology fields
• Are headquartered in Delaware
• 51% of common-law employees and 51% of total compensation paid for work provided in Delaware
• Use proprietary technology to add value to a product, process, or service in qualified field; research or develop a proprietary product or process in qualified field
• Have fewer than 25 employees
• Have been in operation for fewer than 10 years (or fewer than 20 years if working on FDA approval for product)

QUALIFIED INVESTORS

• $10,000 minimum investment for individual, $30,000 minimum for fund
• Credit is 25% of investment in qualified business
• Total program funding is capped at $5 million annually
• Sunset after 2021

More information on qualifications is available at www.business.delaware.gov/incentives.

“Delaware is home to some of the nation’s most innovative small companies and now with this tax credit, science and high-tech entrepreneurs have even more incentive to choose Delaware to grow their businesses,” said Kurt Foreman, President and CEO of the Delaware Prosperity Partnership.

About Delaware Prosperity Partnership
Created in 2017, Delaware Prosperity Partnership (DPP) is the nonprofit that leads the state of Delaware’s economic development efforts to attract, grow and retain businesses; to build a stronger entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem; and to support private employers in identifying, recruiting and developing talent in the state of Delaware. For more information, visit www.deprosperitypartnership.com.