Over the past two months, the General Assembly introduced two pieces of legislation to foster innovation and entrepreneurship in North Carolina. These bills are important for the Raleigh Chamber as we consider ways to help connect entrepreneurs to three core elements - funding, talent, and, opportunities.
The first piece of notable legislation reestablishes an important tax credit that was removed by the General Assembly in 2014. House Bill 680: Reenact Qualified Business Venture Credit provides income tax credits for qualified business investments that either are headquartered in a tier one or two county; or are headquartered in an opportunity zone. Additionally, the legislation increases the total amount of tax credits in a calendar year to $10 million (up from $7.5 million). The bill would become effective on Jan. 1 and contains an expiration date of Jan. 1, 2025.
Another notable piece of legislation introduced in the General Assembly is Senate Bill 649: North Carolina Venture Fund. The bill establishes the NC Technology Development Investment Program as a means of providing early-stage, evergreen venture capital for the purpose of fostering and funding businesses in NC and supports entrepreneurs in their efforts to build companies. Additionally, the bill creates the Startup Capital Authority to make qualified investments in businesses throughout the state to provide greater access to startup companies. The legislation would become effective upon appropriation from the General Assembly.
This legislation represents important investments in North Carolina’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
To learn more about our GA priorities, track legislative bills, or to read our blog posts, you can visit our webpage or follow us on Twitter @RcgaJ, @tierra_rcga, or @raleighchamber.