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Alaskan Firms Warm To H-1B Visa Funds
by Liza Porteus
The Alaska High-Tech Business Council (AHTBC) is urging tech workers seeking to upgrade their skills to apply for a second round of grant funding under the H-1B visa program.
Technology companies and workers will receive top priority for the grants this year, followed by non-IT organizations, and then government and nonprofits. Priority applications for the tech industry are due Friday. After that date, other organizations will be able to apply until funds expire.
The U.S. Labor Department funds the Anchorage and Matanuska-Susitna (Mat-Su) Workforce Investment Board's (WIB) H-1B program. The board received $2.4 million for a two-year grant program that began last April. About $1 million went toward developing an information technology curriculum at Mat-Su College. About $800,00 of the remaining $1.4 million will be allocated to technology training grants, with the other funds going toward training, administration and apprenticeship programs.
The Anchorage-Mat-Su H-1B program is unique because it gives priority to incumbent tech workers who want to boost their skills, AHTBC Executive Director Sally Suddock told National Journal's Technology Daily. She also noted that program allows individual workers or sole proprietors to apply for the grants, rather than just large companies.
"It's an economic development issue in the state for our IT workforce to remain current," Suddock said. "The technology changes so rapidly ... We saw no need or logic to distinguish between someone who is a one-person shop in this industry and ... a larger company."
Grants awarded last year saved industry close to $500,000, Suddock said, but most recipients were from government industry, nonprofits and non-government industries such as health care.
"The technology industry ... many are start-ups ... I don't know whether they didn't pay attention ... [but] they didn't take advantage of it." Suddock said. This year's priority funding for tech companies is "to make sure they don't miss out in the end."
Pennsylvania Offers Incentives For Start-ups
Pennsylvania state lawmakers on Monday unveiled a package of bills to benefit start-up businesses in the Keystone State. Republican Rep. Tom Stevenson introduced three bills, co-sponsored by Republican Rep. Mike Turzai, that constitute the package.
H.B. 2348 allows a company to surrender net operating-loss tax credits. The seller may not relinquish the credits for less than 75 percent of the face value of the tax benefit. Recommended by former Gov. Tom Ridge's Technology 21 Commission, the initiative would permit start-up tech companies to transfer or sell their unused net-operating loss credits, which will allow them to hire more skilled workers.
"It's easy to imagine that small tech start-up companies ... or companies in their early stages of development aren't generating profit, so they have no tax liability," Pittsburgh Technology Council CEO Steven Zylstra said in an interview. "They can trade credits to companies that have tax liabilities, or to the state, in return for much needed capital."
This helps Pennsylvania compete with neighboring states New Jersey and Delaware, which are enacting more laws to lure businesses to their states. "There's great competition in this arena," Zylstra said.
H.B. 2349 enables research and development (R&D) tax credits to be repurchased by the state from struggling tech firms under certain circumstances. According to the Pittsburgh Technology Council, although the demand for Pennsylvania R&D tax credits has far exceeded the state's annual cap of $15 million, small businesses have failed to fully utilize a $3 million program currently included in the overall authorization. The council said many small businesses are reluctant to incur accounting expenses for credits that may not be redeemed for years.
H.B. 2335 would extend the net operating loss carry forward period from 10 years to 20 years to mirror federal provisions. This measure would benefit industries that face cyclical downturns, particularly technology and biotechnology start-ups that usually accrue huge financial losses early on. Infant businesses could carry forward losses they may incur against future earnings, which allows them to reduce their future tax liability.
"What we're trying to do is get in sync with many other states who allow a 20-year carry forward," Zylstra said. "This is important stuff to technology companies."
H.B. 2335 and H.B. 2348 have been referred to the House Committee on Finance, which approved H.B. 2349 on March 12. The latter bill heads to the House Appropriations Committee.
Also on Monday, Zylstra announced strong support for legislation introduced by state Rep. Stephen Stetler, D, which would increase the cap on Pennsylvania's R&D tax credit from $15 million to $20 million.
Cryor Aims To Bridge Digital Divide
A bill to give Maryland consumers a tax-free week for personal computers may be losing momentum in the state legislature as lawmakers try to slash cuts to decrease the state budget deficit.
H.B. 103, sponsored By Del. Jean Cryor of Montgomery County, proposes that computer purchases made between Feb. 1 and Feb. 7 of 2003 be exempt from state sales tax. The measure would cost $2.2 million in lost taxes, but $1.5 million would be returned through additional taxes on computer-related items.
"It's good for the consumer, it's good for Maryland, it's good for industry -- there's no downside to it," Cryor told National Journal's Technology Daily. But "everything is being squeezed to nothing" because of the budget deficit.
Cryor said Maryland has an "informal rule" that nothing over a couple hundred dollars in tax credits will get through the legislature until the state's budget situation improved.
The Consumer Electronics Association shows that 27 percent of Maryland families with incomes of less than $25,000 a year would be more likely to buy a computer if they did not have to pay sales tax.
"I have every confidence this bill is going to go through ... anything new takes a little bit of time to get used to it," Cryor said. "Unfortunately, we're in a bad time to make this point. I do think we can make it very soon -- maybe even next year."
H.B. 103 is still in the House Ways and Means Committee. Cryor said she might try to attach the bill to another measure as the session nears to a close.
Former New Jersey CIO Wins Tech Award
Former New Jersey Chief Information Officer (CIO) Wendy Rayner was named one of the 2002 Federal 100 award winners by Federal Computer Week. Rayner, who served as liaison between the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) and the Federal CIO Council in 2001, was selected for her contributions in fostering partnerships between the two organizations.
Other award recipients include: Richard Clarke, President Bush's cyber-security adviser; Mitchell Daniels, Office of Management and Budget chief (OMB); John Tritak, director of the Commerce Department's Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office; OMB e-government chief Mark Forman; Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., General Services Administration chief Stephen Perry; Dave McClure, director of IT management issues for the General Accounting Office; and Comptroller David Walker.
Columbus Offers Advice To Small Businesses
The Small Business Council of the Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce in Ohio will host a forum March 27 on preparing small businesses for emergencies. The event will focus on helping executives plan for business interruptions when disasters strike and protecting facilities, technology and employees.
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