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Startup companies in Hawaii boosted the amount of taxes they paid the state last year by 74 percent, according to a recent survey.
The Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism said Thursday the state received $27.1 million in taxes from 150 companies supported by the High Technology Development Corp. — an agency within DBEDT tasked to build Hawaii’s high-technology sector.
In 2015 HTDC reported
its companies generated
$15.6 million in state taxes.
DBEDT said the state’s economy saw an estimated total economic impact of $619.6 million, based on a multiplier that includes direct revenue, spending by the company and employees’ spending. In 2015 the total economic impact from the state-supported startups was $263.7 million.
“As we continue to grow our innovation economy, this survey (by HTDC) shows the importance of our local tech and manufacturing industry,” DBEDT Director Luis Salaveria said in a statement. “Our overall growth strategy includes building a robust infrastructure to support this area, while we work on building more public-private partnerships.”
The program has roughly 193 client companies, ranging from the Honolulu Cookie Co., La Tour Bakehouse and Nalu Scientific LLC, which develops high-end sensors and systems. HTDC had 109 company clients in 2015.
The 150 companies that responded to the survey estimated $388.8 million in total revenue, generated $156.2 in income and provided 2,687 local jobs. Local jobs were up from 673 in 2015.