The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) said it has successfully allocated $12 million from the state’s Angel Tax Credit Program, all of which goes to funding startup businesses.
 
“The Angel Tax Credit Program is one of Minnesota’s most effective tools for attracting early stage investment into emerging small businesses,” DEED Commissioner Katie Clark Sieben said in a statement. “Every year we see great demand for this program, and we encourage rural, women and minority entrepreneurs to take advantage of this fantastic resources designated to fuel their business growth.”
 
Last year, the Minnesota legislature dictated that $7.5 million of the $12 million total should go to underrepresented groups that have received fewer funds in the past, including Greater Minnesota businesses or startups owned by women or minority groups. About $4 million of those credits are still available, though if they are not claimed by October 1, they will be made available to all.
 
DEED said the $12 million in tax credits handed out so far would generate $48 million in angel funding for emerging Minnesota businesses.
 
Qualified investors for the Angel Tax Credit Program are eligible to receive 25 percent of their investments, if costs exceed $10,000. Typical Minnesota startups that utilize the program specialize in high technology, new proprietary technology, or proprietary products, processes or services in the fields of agriculture, tourism, forestry, mining, manufacturing or transportation. Lists of all the businesses qualifying for the tax credit this year (and up to 2012) is viewable on DEED’s website.