"In the past our main concern has been producing our orders fast enough," he said. "We're looking for $500,000 to $1 million in new equity to double or triple in size."

"The fact is that it is very hard to do (small-scale) private equity investment," he said. "It is so much easier to invest in a company whose shares trade on the stock market."

"This (tax credit) can provide the kind of assistance to get people interested in private equity investing," [Ken Cooper] said.