Minnesota economic development officials expect to be able to launch the state's new
angel investor tax credit program sometime next week.
The Department of Employment and Economic Development this week was completing and testing back-office systems for the program, says coordinator Jeff Nelson. If all goes as planned, the department expects to post applications on a new web page the week of July 19, two weeks before the deadline set by the Legislature.
The 25 percent tax credit is designed to incentivize up to $48 million per year in investments in emerging and high-tech startups in the state. The Legislature set aside $11 million for 2010 and $12 million annually for 2011 through 2014.
The money will be awarded through a two-step, first-come-first-served process. First, investors and companies need to be certified to ensure they qualify for the tax credit. Next, the investor may apply for the tax credit allocation.
Among the criteria for companies to qualify: They must be less than 10 years old and have fewer than 25 employees. Their headquarters and more than half their payroll and employees must be in Minnesota, and all employees must make at least $18.55 per hour. Qualifying companies also need to be using or researching proprietary technology in a high-technology field.
Nelson says that based on the volume of questions and requests his office has had, they very well might be swamped in the next few weeks, but it's impossible to say for sure.
"We've had a lot of interest from all parties, but we have no experience in this, so it's kind of hard to tell," says Nelson.
We'll see next week, maybe.
Source: Jeff Nelson, Department of Employment and Economic Development
Writer:
Dan Haugen