- published by XconomyArticle by Ken Myer, President & Chief Executive Officer of the Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA), the largest state technology association in North America. The challenge currently before our Governor...

As the state legislature winds its way toward the end of its regular 60 day session, massive tax increases and new taxes are being debated.   Especially dangerous for the tech community is the new sales tax on custom software and the general B&O...

As this is being written, the state House of Representatives is passing a massive tax increase, specifically targeting custom software as well as other computer related services.   Yesterday, the state Senate passed Senate Bill 6143, which increased...

The Washington state House of Representatives is poised to pass HB 3191, http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=3191, an omnibus tax bill that contains a sales tax on custom software in Part 15 of the bill. WTIA has been lobbying hard to delete...

You are making a difference in getting the legislature to rethink adding the sales tax to custom software development. Please continue to contact both your state representatives and your state senator to oppose Part 15 of HB 3191.  See attached...

Today, the House Finance Committee passed HB 3191, a 153 page monstrosity of a bill that requires sales tax on custom software development.  This is a major departure for what has been considered a professional service and taxed accordingly.  ...

Today the state House of Representatives unveiled its version of tax increases, closing tax “loopholes” and limiting or eliminating certain tax exemptions.  The House plans to adopt the governor’s ideas for adding sales tax to candy, gum, soda and...

Today is day 48 of the 60 day legislative session in Olympia.  Both chambers of the legislature have released their versions of the operating budget, while only the Senate has proposed a set of tax proposals to close the $2.8 billion budget gap facing...

This morning at 9 am, the state Senate released its supplemental operating budget to cover the rest of the 2009-11 biennium.In many years, the supplemental budget would see an increase in spending due to economic and tax revenue growth. The exact opposite...

Gov. Gregoire released her tax package Wednesday to deal with what is now a $2.8 billion gap between revenue and spending.  While the revenue forecast shows a slightly improving economy, job and revenue growth are still in the future.   Attached...

Last year’s legislature was overshadowed by the sagging economy and substantial drop in state tax revenue pursuant to a slowing economy.  Despite that situation, the legislature did pass a budget without raising taxes, albeit due to the receipt of...

Senate Bill 6696, the Race to the Top proposal requested by Gov. Gregoire is scheduled for a public hearing in the House Education Committee Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.   Passage of this bill, which you can find here:  http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=6696&year=2009...

House Bill 3176, discussed in this blog on Tuesday, will have a public hearing this Saturday morning in the House Finance Committee.  The purpose of this bill is to increase taxes and raise new revenue for the state to close the $2.6 billion gap...

Today, the state Senate passed E2SSB 6696, the Race to the Top bill.  While a step forward in education reform and towards garnering millions in federal education money, it still falls short in a few significant ways.   The state Senate decided...

Written by: Joe Wallin, Partner, Davis Wright Tremaine & Brian Todd, Partner, Davis Wright TremainSource: Originally published in TechFlashSubmitted by: Davis Wright Tremain                      ...

Written By: Annie Cheng, Netstar, Inc. ----------------------------Savings Where You Least Expect – 8 Easy Cellular & Telecom Tips “80% of all telecom bills have errors.” –Gartner Group I often share that statistic with people, which elicits a...

MONTHLY EMAIL TIP SERIESDo you get so much e-mail every day that you find it hard to read it all? If you're like a lot of us, you might spend as little as 15 seconds scanning a message to determine how it applies to you. Now, imagine if that's...

Written By: Peter Gruenbaum, President, SDK Bridge, LLC Source: To read this orginal article, please visitt Prestwood eMAG.Take Away: Good API documentation can have a tremendous impact on whether a software platform is adopted. However, too often API...

January New & Renewing Members NEW MEMBERSIndustry MembersItron, Inc.Hubspan, Inc.Neah Power Systems, Inc.AdReadyIntegrated Virtual Prototyping Inc.Orb OptronixPOS System Integrators IncZulily Inc.Intellicheck Mobilisa, Inc.Marchex,...

Hello Readers, The legislative session in Olympia is half over, with 30 days to go. A wide range of proposals have been considered and voted out of policy and fiscal committees. WTIA is actively engaged on a number of proposals, primarily in the areas...

WTIA Announces Finalists for Technology Leader of Tomorrow   Online voting is open to the public beginning today; all finalists receive scholarships   SEATTLE – February 3, 2010 – Furthering its commitment to support the...

In a close 7-6 vote today, the House Education Committee passed House Bill 2915.  This bill delays, once again, the requirement that students pass a math and science test to graduate from high school.   WTIA testified and advocated against...

Just for fun - who are your favorite 2010 IAA finalists?  We have created fan favorite lists for all the finalists in 6 of the 8 categories.  Please note, this excercise will have no impact on the judging process...we just want to know who...

Hello Readers, With the legislature in full swing in Olympia, your scribe has been busy tracking the flow of bills being introduced and referred to legislative committees for hearings.  In the even-numbered year, the legislature meets for just...

WTIA Venture Capitalist Outlook Survey Shows Continued Positive Trends for Q1   Improved revenue growth and hiring; layoffs decrease; state of economy remains top concern   SEATTLE, WASH – January 26, 2010 – Today, the Washington Technology...