Angel Tax Credits included in state budget

Rep. Wendi Thomas (R-Bucks) announced last week that funding for Angel Tax Credits had been included in the budget for fiscal year 2021-22 and signed into law by Gov. Tom Wolf.

Earlier this year, Thomas introduced legislation creating the tax credits, which was later incorporated into the budget’s Fiscal Code (House Bill 1348).

The Fiscal Code included $5 million to create the Angel Investment Venture Capital Program within the executive branch. The program will award state grants to tech firms that need early stage financing. Angel Tax Credits funds will be particularly dedicated for new high-wage, high-tech companies.

Start-ups must have received less than $2 million in private investments, been in business less than two years, and employ fewer than 100 people with at least 51 percent working in Pennsylvania to qualify.

“With our world-renowned educational institutions, talented workforce of researchers, engineers and scientists, and well-established culture of hard work and ingenuity, Pennsylvania is uniquely positioned to be a global leader in startup industries, specifically in the bio-tech space,” Thomas said. “To capitalize on this opportunity and to put Pennsylvania on the map for innovation, we need starter investor tax credits that will kickstart job creation by giving tax benefits to investors of startups headquartered in Pennsylvania.”