Tech tax credits spared in Pa. budget negotiations

Local tech execs can breathe a sigh of relief: according to several sources, the potential two-year freeze on Pennsylvania tax credit programs, including the R&D Tax Credit and the Keystone Innovation Zone program, has been nixed.

“The budget bill on the Governor’s desk is predicated on no changes to any tax credit program,” said Erik Arneson, a spokesperson for Senate Majority leader Dominic Pileggi (R-Delaware). “In other words, all tax credit programs would remain at the [established] levels.”

Two other sources confirmed this information, which comes as positive news to local companies already receiving some of these credits.

“This has been a meaningful factor in our decision to stay in the part of center City that we stay in,” said Bob Moore, founder of Center City-based RJMetrics, an e-commerce analytics tool that receives $100,000 in KIZ credits per year. “We had a lot of areas that we could have gone to, but we specifically looked at areas that were KIZ qualified. Those grants move the needle for us in terms of whether we can make one more hire and give a better experience to our team.”

A proposed budget for the new fiscal year is currently awaiting Gov. Tom Corbett’s signature.