Maryland legislators want to give the state’s cybersecurity investment tax credits to investors instead of the companies themselves.
A bill that was passed unanimously in the Senate calls for adjustments to an existing statute that gives tax incentives for investments in certain Maryland cybersecurity companies. The three-year-old tax credit program provides for a refundable tax credit for 33 percent of the investment in a qualified company, not to exceed $250,000.
Previously, that credit would go to a cyber company that earned an investment. But the new legislation would more actively encourage angels and venture capitalists to invest in cyber by giving them the tax break. The adjustment bill would also extend the termination date of the tax credit from fiscal year 2019 to fiscal year 2023.
The bill would bring the cybersecurity tax credit program more in line with a similar state program that gives tax breaks to biotechnology investors, said state Del. Nicholaus Kipke, a sponsor of the House measure.