MENLO PARK, Calif. and WASHINGTON, Sept. 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Will Coleman, a partner at Mohr Davidow Ventures, testified this morning before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means during a joint hearing by the Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures and the Subcommittee on Oversight. Coleman was participating in a hearing focused on opportunities to drive energy innovation through the tax code.
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"The hearing was an important first step down a path toward reforming the energy tax code. We felt it was important to testify before the Committee to emphasize how crucial continued innovation is to the energy industry and economic growth," Coleman explained. "We believe there are ways to simplify the energy tax code and create a more level playing field for new technologies and entrants to grow."
Within his testimony Coleman outlined a new technology neutral proposal, which would provide a universal framework for supporting technologies as they scale and mature. The approach would provide the clarity and certainty that has been lacking for investors in new technologies and companies looking to adopt next generation energy technologies.
"I believe we have a rare opportunity to re-assess whether the existing credits accomplish the goals that they were created to serve or the priorities we now need to meet... We need a new approach. It needs to be simple, transparent, technology neutral, accessible to large and small companies, enduring, and fundamentally focused on stimulating innovation and growth... In today's fiscal environment we need to make every dollar work toward stimulating growth."
To read the full testimony, please see:
http://waysandmeans.house.gov/UploadedFiles/Colemantestimony922.pdf
Coleman previously testified before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on March 17, 2011.
About Mohr Davidow
For more than 25 years, the Mohr Davidow team has invested in early stage startups and worked closely with exceptional entrepreneurs to create venture returns by developing and bringing to market new, technology-based products and services. The firm invests in companies that transform industries whether through better infrastructure for our rapidly evolving data-intensive digital world, more efficient power for our planet, or better, more personalized medicine. Category-leading companies funded by Mohr Davidow include: Agile (ORCL); Brocade; Genomatica; Gordon Murray Design; Kabbage; Nanosolar; nLight; ONI Systems (CIEN); Pacific Biosciences; Panasas; ParAllele (AFFX); Proofpoint; OPX Biotechnologies; RainDance Technologies; Rally Software; Rambus; Recurrent Energy (acquired by Sharp Corporation); Shutterfly; Simbol Materials; Tethys Bioscience; Ticketfly; Visible Measures; Xicato; and ZeaChem. The firm has $1.85 billion under management. For more information, visit www.mdv.com.
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