Council Enacts Biotech Tax Credit

NEW YORK CITY-In a further step toward creating a commercial biotechnology sector, the City Council on Thursday enacted a tax credit for start-ups to base their operations here. The vote follows the state Legislature’s approval of the tax credit in July.

A release from the City Council says the biotech tax credit will work in conjunction with the development of laboratory space at the East River Science Park, which in July signed its first tenant, and at the New York Science Center, also known as BioBAT, in the works at the Brooklyn Army Terminal. When they’re completed, these spaces, along with existing facilities, will provide approximately two million square feet of laboratory space in the city.

Under the legislation approved by the council, small biotech firms engaged primarily in research and development in New York City can receive a refundable tax credit of up to $250,000 a year against the city’s general corporation and unincorporated business taxes. The credit is intended to help emerging firms offset costs of equipping laboratories, certain qualified research costs and training expenses for researchers.