The Online Marketplace for Tax Credits Expands its Product Offering

NEW YORK, Jan. 7, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Online Incentives Exchange (The OIX) (www.theOIX.com), which began operations in Q1 2013 as the first transparent online exchange for the trading of state tax credits, announced that it has evolved its business model and expanded its product offering via a transition to a Software as a Service (SaaS) model, and that Moss Adams LLP, one of the largest accounting and business consulting firms in the nation, is the first customer to create a white-label tax-credit exchange.

OIX software systems provide accounting firms, tax credit brokers, banks, tax credit lenders, advisory firms and government agencies the capacity to establish a privately branded "Exchange Portal" in order to service existing customers and reach new opportunities by bringing their practices online (within weeks and at fractional total cost of ownership).  The OIX platform also serves as a "hub" connecting OIX Members to our "partners" operating OIX Exchange Portals and trading platforms, so that buyers and seller, borrowers and lenders and businesses and advisors can connect and transact.

Daniel Bigel, co-founder and chief executive of The OIX stated, "The Moss Adams Tax Credit Exchange will transform how its clients consume and trade tax-credits.  We anticipate that the cost savings, the ease of use and the efficiencies our platform offers will yield immediate benefits to all participants."  

Moss Adams will be launching their OIX Exchange platform in the next week, and several other companies will be launching portals over the coming months, including tax credit lenders, tax credit brokers, banks, other accounting firms, (among others) who are seeking to scale their business and help their clients obtain liquidity and/or reduce their tax liabilities.

"We are excited about enhancing our service offering with OIX," said Rob O'Neill, state and local tax and lead transferable tax credit partner at Moss Adams. "Our clients will have continuous access and national visibility through this online exchange for more informed business decisions, and we expect this to transform the way tax credits are purchased and sold."

Through the creation of an online network and national community of tax professionals operating Exchange Portals – all of whom specialize in providing unique and distinctive services – The OIX platform will enable the trading, monetization and structuring of all types of tax credits and tax credit products across all jurisdictions, including federal tax credits.  OIX Members can access these diverse portals and transact with a professionals tax organization that meets all business' needs.

The Market Landscape

The OIX is working to foster a liquid marketplace in two phases: we are currently empowering the tax credit professional community to quickly, efficiently and at a significantly lower cost transition to a digital solution whereby they can build and grow their existing business in this format.  Once The OIX aggregates a sufficient group of "Exchange Portals" we will add a "national market layer" enabling OIX Members and these Exchange Operators to experience even greater liquidity on "The OIX Central Market" with new features and tools to allow for Portal-to-Portal trading.

The Tax Credit Market (business incentives) is large and far reaching with numerous players transacting in the space.  Traditional tax credit brokers and CPA firms that have been "connecting the dots" between buyers and sellers can now bring their practices online and transition to a digital solution and immediately experience enhanced back-office efficiency, lower support costs, measurable new customer acquisitions and exponential growth and liquidity that only the virtual reach of the web can provide.

Benefits to the Industry

The OIX SaaS solution provides value to industry players at a fraction of development & build costs.  Our technology combined with the platform's "hub" of professionals provide a growth curve of innovation that is the benefit of all market participants' collective learning's.  Becoming part of a broad ecosystem by definition will grow opportunities for the professionals in the network into new markets via the virtual reach.

"All of the players transacting in the tax credit market are disconnected and flying blind," says Bigel.  "Transparency and access to an electronic environment through a cost effective SaaS solution will become the new norm resulting in growing demand for tax credit products due to an open and available system."

"Buyers of these credits historically have been well informed businesses looking to manage their tax exposure and reduce liabilities.  The OIX and the community of tax professionals participating on the platform will democratize this market by empowering all taxpayers – individuals and businesses of any size – to access this market, enabling them to offset tax liability and re-invest capital in the local economy," Bigel continues.  "The OIX platform and our proprietary technology will bring efficiency to this market, flatten the trade curve, and provide increased velocity and liquidity in trading, ensuring that the credits trade at fair values – as determined by buyers and sellers through supply/demand economics – in order to benefit all market participants."

Bigel continued, "By providing liquidity to the tax credit market, and empowering small and mid-sized businesses to participate, we are facilitating the strengthening of these invaluable state tax incentive programs enabling businesses to fund economic growth and add jobs.  Tax incentives legislated at the state level are employed as a vital economic development tool solely for the purpose to encourage economic growth and quality job creation, and a transparent and efficient marketplace will help the states help businesses in their jurisdictions."  The OIX maintains that as long as states offer monetizable tax incentives there is a need for a fair and transparent marketplace in order to foster accountability, legitimacy and integrity to this space.

The OIX had facilitated the trading of over $30 millions of dollars in state tax credits in its test market (Louisiana) during the first active month of trading earlier this year, which was predicated on having $75 million of credits to buy and over $110 million of credits to sell on the platform.  For OIX, this proved the thesis that businesses large and small want to transition to a digital environment where transparency and price discover is now possible.

OIX Membership

The Exchange is membership-based to ensure that all market participants are duly vetted and are legitimate corporate organizations. "This is a new exchange and providing our Members with the highest level of confidence and security is key. As such, we have developed an incredibly rigorous vetting process to ensure that all companies participating on the platform are professional," Bigel added. 

In the first few months since launch there are over 150 companies that have joined the Exchange as Members.  They include: major and mini-major Hollywood studios (who generate a large portion of state incentives on an annual basis), real estate developers, major commercial and regional banks, big four/regional/national accounting firms, wealth management firms, family offices, advisory firms, investment banks, public and private companies, and the list goes on.

About the OIX

The Online Incentives Exchange (The OIX) (www.theoix.com) is a SaaS software provider and the only company in the market providing SaaS solutions to the tax incentive industry. OIX software systems provide accounting firms, tax credit brokers, tax credit lenders, advisory firms and Government Agencies the capacity to experience enhanced efficiency, lower support costs and bring activities online resulting in exponential growth and liquidity.  The OIX also serves as a "hub" connecting our users and Members to the professionals operating "Exchange Portals" and trading platforms.  Leveraging off of our existing technology The OIX also provides government agencies with a customizable software system enabling them to better track and monitor their tax credit portfolios.

For more information on the OIX visit www.theOIX.com.

Contact:
Danny Bigel
212-671-0940
[email protected]

SOURCE The Online Incentives Exchange