Connecticut, the land of opportunity?

At one time Connecticut was a leader in new inventions and patents. We were at the hub of the Yankee can-do spirit. From the invention of the steamed cheeseburger and Wiffle ball to the design and construction of aircraft and nuclear submarines, Connecticut led the way.

Thanks to an enlightened legislature and a governor who realizes that tax credits for making movies is not a key to sustainable growth, this year the legislature passed and the governor signed into law a tax credit that could spur some real investment and turn the Land of Steady Habits into the land of opportunity.

The tax credit is for angel investors. Angel investors are high net-worth individuals or a group of individuals, entrepreneurs, who look for small start-up companies that need seed money to establish their businesses. The new Connecticut law will make angel investing in Connecticut a very enticing idea.

The law states in part:

The new tax credit against the Connecticut personal income tax is created equal to 25 percent of a cash investment made by an angel investor in the qualified securities of a "qualified Connecticut business," provided that the investment is at least $100,000. The total tax credits allowed to any angel investor cannot exceed $250,000.

This new law dovetails very nicely into the one area of Connecticut's economy that continues to thrive, Connecticut's bioscience engine.

A recent economic study by Archstone Consulting found that the Connecticut biopharmaceutical sector supported $14.2 billion in total economic output, including more than 50,000 direct and indirect jobs, many of them here in our backyard. Direct biopharmaceutical wages in Connecticut were estimated to be $1.2 billion, resulting in an estimated $54.2 million in state taxes.

When contenders to the throne of Connecticut's government gather there is one word that is repeated over and over without fail - jobs.

At a recent gubernatorial forum in Hartford a clear theme from both Democratic and Republican candidates emerged which could be a huge win for southeastern Connecticut. When asked, "What area will you focus on to help create and grow new jobs?" each candidate focused on the importance of the bioscience/technology/pharmaceutical industry to Connecticut and their commitment to help build and develop this important and growing industry.

That means this region stands to benefit greatly from a campaign debate that focuses on one of the most important industries in the region and our state.

The bioscience/pharmaceutical industry has deep roots here in southeastern Connecticut. Despite recent cutbacks at Pfizer Inc. and other pharmaceutical entities, this segment remains critical to Connecticut's future growth.

More recently, the attractiveness of southeastern Connecticut's bioscience environment helped lure Irish pharmaceutical-maker Amarin to the region when they moved their R&D operations to New London last year.

The governor and the legislature have done their part by going all-in on the bioscience area by committing state-funded research on stem cells. That investment has already led to new investments and drawn top scientists and respected researchers to our region and the state.

Already, the stem-cell initiative, coupled with the multiplier spin-off work, has likely generated enough growth so that program is creating more jobs, state revenues and economic activity than it has cost in tax dollars.

With the continued state emphasis on bioscience plus the added tax benefit for angel investors that could spur even further development of high tech jobs, Connecticut's future may well be an economy of high payer jobs that are both sustainable and valuable to society as a whole.

Ben Davol is a veteran of numerous local, state and federal political campaigns. Once a Republican organizer, he is now registered as unaffiliated.