McDonnell signs jobs bills

Gov. Bob McDonnell ceremonially signed six bills to make Virginia more competitive in creating and retaining high-tech jobs Tuesday at the grand opening for the new Acentia headquarters in Fairfax.

He was joined by legislators, local elected officials, Northern Virginia Technology Council President and CEO Bobbie Kilberg, Acentia CEO Todd Stottlemeyer and other technology industry representatives. The bills expand a data center sales tax exemption, encourage investment in technology startups and extend the Virginia telework tax credit.

After signing the bills, the governor cut the ribbon for the new corporate headquarters of Acentia, which announced its move from Silver Spring, Maryland to Falls Church in January of this year. The project will create 60 new jobs.

“The bills signed today will help make sure that when companies look for a place to start or relocate their technology startup or datacenter, that Virginia will be at the top of their list. Virginia already has the highest concentration of high-tech workers in the nation, and these bills will help bring more of these good jobs to our skilled workforce,” McDonnell said.

Bills Signed

HB 216 (Comstock)/SB 112 (McDougle) Data Center Sales Tax Exemption

·         Expands the sales and use tax exemption for the purchase or lease of computer equipment or enabling software by data centers by

o   extending it to tenants of the centers

o   including jobs created not only by the data center operator but also by the tenants of the data center in collectively meeting the level of new jobs required for eligibility for the exemption

HB 1013 (Comstock)/SB226 (Herring) Extending Virginia Capital Gains Exemption for Investors in Technology Startups

·         Extends the subtraction from individual and corporate taxable income of capital gains from investments in qualified businesses from June 30, 2013, to June 30, 2015

HB 551 (Comstock)/SB 238 (Herring) Extending Virginia Telework Tax Credit

·         Extends the telework expenses tax credit for employers through December 31, 2016

o   The credit currently expires on December 31, 2013

·         The bill also makes other clarifying changes concerning expenses eligible for the credit