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The Business Council supports this legislation that would extend the Biotechnology Credit for another three years from January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2015. We believe it is essential that the legislature act to assure this credit program remain available to support biotechnology investments in New York City.
The Biotechnology Credit is a tax credit for investors/owners of qualified companies. The tax credit is applied against the General Corporation Tax and Unincorporated Business Tax for qualified expenses incurred for businesses working in the biotechnology field in the City of New York. This credit is crucial in supporting New York City’s economic goals, which include supporting growth in biotechnology.
To be eligible, a company must engage in biotechnologies and: be an emerging technology company or a company whose ratio of research and development funds to net sales equals or exceeds the average ratio for all companies surveyed by the National Science Foundation; have no more than one hundred full-time employees, of which at least 75 percent are employed in the City of New York; have a ratio of research and development funds to net sales that equals or exceeds six percent during the calendar year ending in the tax year for which the credit is claimed; have annual product sales of $10 million or less, have gross revenues, including the gross revenues of its “affiliates” and “related members,” not exceeding $20 million for the calendar year immediately preceding the tax year for which the credit is claimed.
The Biotechnology Credit has supported millions of dollars of investments in emerging tech sectors, and has proven an effective and cost-effective incentive program. We believe the program should be extended, and therefore urge legislative approval of S7462/A10352.