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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Connecticut Direct Financial Incentives

Connecticut's economic development, finance and tax organizations provide a range of incentive programs to initiate new business and commercial investment.

Q1 2014
Loans, loan guarantees, risk capital, labor training, tax abatements, exemptions and credits, and other incentives including financing and assistance for brownfield remediation are available through the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) and Connecticut Innovations. The department assists businesses through several initiatives.

The Connecticut "First Five"
The First Five program provides incentives to businesses that, depending on the size of the company's investment, create a minimum of 200 new, full-time jobs in the state within the next two years, or 200 new, full-time jobs in the state within five years with a capital investment minimum of $25 million.

First Five augments and combines the state's best incentive and tax credit programs to encourage job creation. In addition to the incentives based on the creation of the first 200 new full-time jobs within Connecticut, businesses would continue to receive credits for each net new job created above 200, increasing the potential to thousands of jobs in the state.

Businesses interested in the First Five program can contact Ron Angelo at the Department of Economic and Community Development for more information at 860-270-8020.

Film, Television, and Digital Media:
Eligible production companies to receive a tax credit on a sliding scale of up to 30% on qualified digital media and motion picture production, pre-production, and post-production expenses incurred in the state.
Digital Media & Motion Picture Tax Credit
Digital Animation Production Company Tax Credit
Film Production Infrastructure Tax Credit
Digital Animation Production Company Tax Credit
Targeted Sales Tax Exemptions
Property Tax Exemptions for Machinery & Equipment
Hotel Occupancy Tax Exemption
Infrastructure Tax Credit

Small Business Express Program
Provides loans and grants to Connecticut's small business to spur job creation and growth. Small businesses employing not more than 100 employees are eligible, including but not limited to: precision manufacturing, business services, green and sustainable technology, bioscience, and information technology sectors.

Loans/Loan Guarantees:
The DECD and CI offer a wide array of financing programs for the following activities:
Planning, including but not limited to: feasibility studies, engineering, appraisals and market studies; Acquisition of real property, machinery, or equipment, or any combination; Construction of site and infrastructure improvements related to a municipal or business development project; Relocation expenses for the purpose of assisting manufacturing or other economic-based businesses to locate, construct, renovate, or acquire a facility; Working capital in conjunction with a business development project; and Business support services such as labor training, day care, energy conservation, pollution-control, and recycling.

Risk Capital/Technology Assistance:
Connecticut Innovations, the state's quasi-public authority responsible for growing Connecticut businesses through innovative financing and strategic assistance, operates programs including:
Early-stage risk capital investments for emerging high-technology companies. Investments are available for high-tech companies in the state seeking between $100,000 and $1 million. Pre-seed financing for startup Connecticut technology ventures. Loan financing of up to $150,000 is available. Venture and mezzanine debt financing is available for high-tech companies that need capital for expansion (of sales and marketing, customer pipeline, product development, etc.).

Bioscience support funds
Business accelerator/incubator to help entrepreneurs turn ideas into businesses. Strategic guidance for early-stage, high-tech Connecticut companies and companies seeking to relocate to Connecticut. Angel Investor Tax Credit Program: Angel investors can take a credit against Connecticut state income tax for certain investments made in qualifying businesses. Investments must be at least $25,000 in order to be considered under the program.

Other Programs:
The state's Urban and Industrial Sites Reinvestment Tax Credit Program provides up to $100 million in tax credits to companies over a 10-year period for projects that create significant jobs and capital investment in urban centers and economically distressed communities.

The Department of Economic and Community Development also assists businesses through enterprise zones incentives.

The Connecticut Office of Brownfield Remediation and Development at DECD is a one-stop resource for state programs and services and a host of flexible tools — such as gap financing, seed capital programs, corporate tax credits, and an environmental liability insurance program — to successfully redevelop brownfields. Brownfields are buildings or sites that have been contaminated over the years and now need to be properly evaluated and cleaned before they can be put back into reuse. The Connecticut Brownfields Redevelopment Authority offers grants to reimburse developers and municipalities for Phase I and Phase II site assessments and investigations. Also, through the Special Contaminated Properties Remediation and Insurance Funds (SCPRIF), municipalities and businesses can receive low-interest loans to assess, demolish, and remediate contaminated brownfields.

The Office of the Permit Ombudsman was recently established at the Department of Economic and Community Development to expeditiously review applications for state licenses and permits. The office will coordinate and expedite permits and approvals with the departments of Environmental Protection, Transportation, and Public Health for projects that create at least 50 permanent, full-time equivalent jobs in any of the state's 17 enterprise zones or at least 100 such jobs in non-enterprise zone communities; redevelop a brownfield site; are compatible with the state's responsible growth initiatives; develop a mix of different but compatible uses near transportation facilities and infrastructure (i.e., transit-oriented development); or develop green technology businesses. The commissioner may provide expedited reviews for other types of projects based on their "economic impact factors."

Connecticut State Contact:
Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development
505 Hudson Street
Hartford, CT 06106
(860) 270-8215
1-800-392-2122 (Connecticut’s Business Response Center)
www.CTforbusiness.com

Incentive and tax information is provided to Area Development by each state's economic development or commerce agency for information purposes only and is subject to revision at any time by the state government. Please contact the state agency directly for full requirements and offerings.

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