Congress

By: Pat Gouhin, Chief Executive Officer

I just returned from another trip to Washington, DC where I teamed up with our tax coalition partners; National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) , Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) and Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed).  We conducted a series of congressional visits with key representatives from the tax writing Senate Committee on Finance and House Committee on Ways and Means. We also met with the Assistant to the President for Financial Policy on the National Economic Council.  This coalition, started by ACA over four years ago by Public Policy Chairman David Verrill, brings a consistent voice to US tax policy that impacts investors and entrepreneurs. It is managed by ACA’s consultants at GrayRobinson.

By: Mark Graffagnini, Cara Stone, LLP, ACA Public Policy Advisory Council Member

The Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “ICA”) defines an “investment company” as any issuer which “is or holds itself out as being engaged primarily, or proposes to engage primarily, in the business of investing, reinvesting or trading in securities.” This definition generally includes angel funds, venture capital funds and other types of private equity and hedge funds, unless an exemption applies.

By: Marianne Hudson, ACA Executive Director

ACA and angel investors celebrated victory this week at our nation’s capital as the bill to solve the “99 Investor Problem” passed the House of Representatives on Tuesday, May 22.  The resolution to the 99 investor problem is part of S.2155, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, which focuses on reducing the regulatory burden on community banks by rolling back Dodd-Frank regulations.  Included in the bill is a provision to raise the cap on the number of investors in angel funds and syndicates from 99 investors to 250 in funds of $10 million or less.  This piece of legislation passed with 258 votes, 33 Democrats voting in favor, so somewhat bipartisan.  The bill was signed by the President on Thursday, May 24, making it law (probably pending rule-making).

By: Marianne Hudson, ACA Executive Director

I thought you would be interested in a handy summary of the tax reform bill, the Tax Cut and Jobs Act, which was signed into law by the President just before the Christmas holiday.  It is by Bloomberg Government and was done before some small tweaks by the Senate, but should be pretty close to the final law.

There are three things to know about tax reform that affect angel investors and new companies, most of which ACA supported and promoted on Capitol Hill:

By: Marianne Hudson, ACA Executive Director

Tax reform is nearing the top of the to-do list in Washington, DC.  On September 12, 2017, I went to DC along with colleagues from the National Venture Capital Association and the Biotechnology Industry Association to meet with several Members of Congress to discuss tax policies for startups.  ACA has formed a coalition with NVCA and BIO to promote tax policy that all three organizations support.  Having three organizations work together provides more power and gives us an extra “listen,” if you will, in our Capitol Hill meetings and beyond.

By David Verrill, Chair of ACA’s Public Policy Committee

Ten days ago, I took a trip to Washington, DC with ACA executive director Marianne Hudson and our government affairs team of Chris McCannell and Greg Mesack from Eris Group.  It was an interesting three days, with a combination of planning our policy work for the year, meeting with other associations with overlapping interests, and ten meetings on Capitol Hill.  This was the week after the inauguration of President Trump, and you could see a lot of change in our nation’s capital.  Here is what I learned:

Comprehensive Tax Reform

Comprehensive tax reform is coming (after Congress deals with the repeal and replacement of Obamacare), with the goal of having it done by August 1.  Most believe that the House will follow blueprints by Paul Ryan and former Ways & Means chair Dave Camp as the basis to build on, with the following features:

By: Angela Jackson is an ACA Board Member and Chairs the “Grassroots Group” for ACA members interested in interacting with Members of Congress.  Want to join?  Shoot Angela an email.

Exciting things are happening in Washington, DC relative to advancing the ACA legislative agenda - and we're requesting your immediate help.

Call to Action - by Monday January 9!

ACA just got word that the House of Representatives plans to vote on the HALOS Act next week.  HALOS (Helping Angels Lead Our Startups) exempts demo days from general solicitation rules, meaning that companies that participate in any type of demo day would no longer need to worry about taking extra steps to verify investors are accredited – unless they are going the solicitation 506(c) way.  And angels who prefer to invest in private deals would have better assurances that companies had not tripped the general solicitation trigger.  The bill, HR 79, has great bi-partisan sponsors:  leads Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), and co-sponsors Andy Barr (R-KY), Carlos Curbelo (R-FL), John Delaney (D-MD), Randy Hultgren (R-IL), Jared Polis (D-CO), Pete Sessions (R-TX), and Ann Wagner (R-MO).

By: Marianne Hudson, ACA Executive Director

The Angel Capital Association has been very active in educating policy makers in Washington, DC for six years, and I am proud to say that this Fall ACA has ramped up our activity and effectiveness even more.  In case you missed it:  here’s what the association has done to advocate for startups and angels in the last two months, and providing insights to our members:

  • Wrote a letter to the Trump transition team – ACA’s memo highlights the importance of new businesses to job creation in the US and the need to promote policies that free up capital and minimize regulatory burdens.  The focus is on what President Elect Trump can do immediately, during his first 100 days, and also in his first year in office on everything from appointing SEC commissioners who understand early-stage investing to keeping the current accredited investor definition the same to tax policy that catalyzes investment in high growth, innovative startups.

By Chris McCannell, Partner at Eris Group

Editor’s Note:  ACA wants to share with our members our progress in Washington.  It’s an important use of member dues, and we believe it is worth every penny.  We work with Eris Group on American public policy issues, and have had great results in the last year – from a 100% exemption on investment gains to House passage of bills that would ensure that demo days are not included in general solicitation and increasing the number of investors in an angel fund or syndicate from 99 to 249.  With Eris Group, ACA has also helped move the conversation about the definition of accredited investor to a more positive one (in angels’ view), and we are now regularly sought out by Members of Congress and other organizations for input and support of legislation and policy issues.

ACA learned in 2010 that Congress and regulators could have a huge impact on angel investors and the startups angels support.  ACA was able to ensure Dodd-Frank didn’t increase the financial thresholds for the accredited investor definition then, but the association learned it needed help from DC professionals to protect angels through that experience.

ACA is pleased to join small business advocacy associations in supporting the new Small Business Tax Compliance Relief Act, sponsored by US Senator David Vitter, of Louisiana.  Sen. Vitter, who chairs the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, aims to promote a fairer tax code for American small businesses and entrepreneurs and promoting US job growth.  The act includes 17 different tax and regulatory benefits for small businesses, covering health insurance, IRS regulations, and 409A deferred compensation packages, among other things.

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