Since the IT industry plays such an important role across so many sectors of the U.S. economy, it has direct influence over our nation’s ability to innovate, grow and create sustainable jobs. Not surprisingly, then, federal policy-makers want to know what they can do to help expand our industry. While these efforts are often well-intentioned and sometimes quite helpful,[...]

Yesterday, the Senate passed the Marketplace Fairness Act (“MFA”) by a vote of 69-27.  The MFA compels online and catalog retailers ("remote sellers"), no matter where they are located, to collect sales tax at the time of a transaction and remit to states where the customer resides. States are only granted the authority to collect these taxes after they have simplified[...]

Earlier today, CompTIA moderated a panel sponsored by the Congressional Small Business IT Caucus that included Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), who founded the Congressional Small Business IT Caucus in 2011 and introduced “Startup Act 3.0,” a bipartisan bill that provides tax incentives that help small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). David Brown, policy advisor of Third[...]

Interest is growing in the "Marketplace Fairness Act" recently introduced in the House by Rep. Steve Womack (R-AR) (H.R. 684) and in the Senate by Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) (S. 336). This legislation would require businesses to collect and remit state sales taxes on sales of goods and services made into other states. For states that have a sales tax, the Marketplace Fairness[...]

CompTIA believes that the looming budget cuts known as sequestration expected on March 1 will be a huge issue for all Americans, particularly tech entrepreneurs. We believe the largest impact will be on those small businesses who sell goods and services to the federal government.  Furthermore, the fall-out from sequestration will cause major trauma for our economy[...]

Last week, the president issued a long-awaited executive order that seeks to protect critical infrastructure – an action he promised soon after Congress didn’t reach agreement on cyber-security legislation last year. This week, the New York Times reported that a link has been established between cyber-attacks against U.S. companies and firms that provide a variety of services,[...]

Last week, I was in our nation’s capital, along with 60 or so other CompTIA staff, members and TECNA partners, taking part in CompTIA’s second annual TechVoice D.C. Fly-In. While I would not consider myself politically savvy, I am politically curious. I have tremendous appreciation and respect for this country’s history and government. I never imagined I would have the[...]

We heard from some great folks on a panel talk this morning at the TechVoice Fly-In in Washington, D.C., including Rep. Richard Hanna (R-NY) who discussed the importance of education and STEM including the introduction of bill called the STEM Education Opportunity Act. We also heard from Brian Forde, senior advisor to the Chief Technology Officer for The White House,[...]

A number of provisions supported by CompTIA that specifically benefit small businesses and technology were included in H.R. 8, the “American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012,” which Congress voted to pass just before midnight on Jan. 1, avoiding the “fiscal cliff” at the last minute. At 157 pages, the bill has vast implications for taxpayers and the American economy. Small[...]

A long-awaited provision that will benefit woman-owned small businesses seeking federal government contract opportunities is included in amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (S. 3254), which passed the Senate on Dec. 4. CompTIA has actively advocated for this fix, which will correct an anomaly in this federal program. The Women-Owned Small Business Federal[...]