Small Business Finance News

Maryland Governor Urges Increased Venture Capital Investing

Written by Jenna Weiner
Published: 6/2/2010

A new tax credit program proposed by Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley hopes to create $100 million in venture capital.

Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley is proposing a new tax credit program that would create venture capital for investment in developing companies in the state.

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"Our state ranks first among states in federal research and development dollars per capita, and second in the total amount we receive annually. It must be our goal to convert more of these dollars into jobs and economic opportunity," Governor O'Malley said during a technology conference Tuesday.

The proposed program - called InvestMaryland - aims to raise $100 million in venture capital by giving insurance companies the opportunity to purchase future tax credits, which they could use in 2015. The money raised would then be split between the state's successful Maryland Venture Fund, and other private venture capital firms active in the state, which could be good news for small business owners.

The state's Maryland Venture Fund has helped fund more than 200 startup companies with investments topping $51 million since its creation in 1997. It has also yielded positive returns, bringing in $61 million over the same time period.

Maryland is a traditional breeding ground for startup companies in life sciences, telecommunications and biotechnology. Nearly 50,000 residents work along a 15-mile stretch of I-270 dubbed "DNA Alley," which also contains offices of the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration.

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