Mayor cuts capital gains tax on DC tech investments

Mayor Vincent Gray signed a bill that will reduce the capital gains tax on long-term investments in local tech companies. The move aims to coax more capital toward D.C. startups.
“We must continue to push forward in establishing an economy that is sustainable and encourages the creation and retention of our home-grown businesses,” he said at the signing ceremony Monday.
The Promoting Economic Growth and Job Creation Through Technology Act of 2014 will set at three percent the tax for selling or exchanging long-term investments (held for a minimum of two years) in D.C.-based “qualified high technology.”
Gray introduced the measure in a standalone bill this September, after the D.C. Council stripped it from a 2012 bill that implemented other tax incentives for the technology sector.
The mayor, who is in the twilight of his administration, has sought to characterize himself as an innovation-friendly mayor by pushing several initiatives aimed at encouraging the growth of the local technology sector.
Some of these measures include Digital DC, a marketing campaign created in March to boost the image of the local industry; a $200,000 grant to back local incubator 1776; and AccelerateDC, a mentorship program for would-be tech companies.