Harrisburg, PA – Today, Governor Tom Wolf announced the approval of Keystone Innovation Zone (KIZ) tax credits for 273 early-stage companies, representing the Wolf Administration’s commitment to Pennsylvania’s technology sector.
“Fostering an environment that allows technology and innovation to flourish in our private sector is one of this administration’s top business priorities,” Governor Wolf said. “By providing these tax credits, we’re helping to reduce the burden placed on companies as they go through the early stages of growth, thereby helping new ideas take root while pushing both our economy and the thriving tech sector forward.”
The Keystone Innovation Zone Program is designed to support and encourage entrepreneurship in and around Pennsylvania’s colleges and universities by providing young Pennsylvania companies with vital working capital to meet critical needs, including covering capital expenditures, workforce expansion, operational expenses, and making companies more attractive to venture investment.
The program provides tax credits for companies that have been in operation for less than eight years, whose gross revenues have increased over the previous year, are located in a Keystone Innovation Zone, and are operating within a targeted industry sector such as information technology or advanced manufacturing/diversified materials.
An example of a company that has benefitted from the KIZ program is Epic Web Studios, a digital marketing and design firm located in Erie and visited by Department of Community and Economic Development Secretary Dennis Davin in September. The support from the KIZ program enabled the company to onboard new employees, which led to further expansion and diversification of its services and client base.
A full list of approved Keystone Innovation Zone approvals totaling $15 million in tax credits, as well as more information about the Keystone Innovation Zone Program, a map of the zones, and highlights of past awardees’ success stories, can be found on the DCED website.
