Secretary David Toland reduces fee for businesses seeking Angel Investors

Topeka, Kan. – Secretary of Commerce David Toland announced today that he has reduced the application fee for businesses seeking to participate in the Angel Investor Tax Credit program.

After reducing the application fee from $750 to $500 in February, the Kansas Department of Commerce reduced the fee further to $250, retroactive to July 1, 2019. Applications for companies seeking investment through the Kansas Angel Investor Tax Credit (KAITC) program for 2019 will be accepted through August 31.

The program offers Kansas income tax credits to qualified individuals who provide seed-capital financing for emerging Kansas businesses engaged in development, implementation and commercialization of innovative technologies, products and services.

“The Angel program exists to support small start-up businesses, so it didn’t make sense to charge an application fee that put the program out of reach to the very businesses seeking help,” Toland said. “This is a straightforward, business-friendly move that we hope will encourage more start-ups to apply and make it easier for Kansans to invest in promising new businesses.”

The KAITC Program is designed to bring together accredited “angel” investors with qualified Kansas companies seeking seed and early stage investment. The purpose of the Kansas Angel Investor Tax Credit Act is to help facilitate:

• The availability of equity investment in businesses in the early stages of commercial development.
• The creation and expansion of Kansas businesses, which are job- and wealth-creating enterprises.

Applications for certification are accepted only for Kansas businesses in the seed and early stage rounds of financing.

Companies must meet the following criteria to be certified as a Qualified Kansas Business:

• The business has a reasonable chance of success and potential to create measurable employment within Kansas.
• In the most recent tax year of the business, annual gross revenue was less than $5 million
• Businesses that are not Bioscience businesses must have been in operation for less than five years; bioscience businesses must have been in operation for less than 10 years.
• The business has an innovative and proprietary technology, product, or service.
• The existing owners of the business have made a substantial financial and time commitment to the business.
• The securities to be issued and purchased are qualified securities.
• The company agrees to adequate reporting of business information to the Kansas Department of Commerce.
• The ability of investors in the business to receive tax credits for cash investments in qualified securities of the business is beneficial, because funding otherwise available for the business is not available on commercially reasonable terms.
• Each applicant must sign a Qualified Company Agreement with the Kansas Department of Commerce.

Certification of companies must meet mandates established by Kansas statute to allow accredited Angel Investors to receive the Kansas Angel Investor Tax Credit.

For more information, visit kansasangels.com or contact:

Rachéll Rowand

(785) 296-3345 Office

(785) 207-4755 Mobile

[email protected]