senate

Debate looms for web sales tax

Judi Hasson — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 13:22:05 -0500

A sales tax on Internet sales may be coming sooner than you think. With record state budget deficits, a new Congress looking for ways to find money in the economic downturn and greater e-commerce, the idea is likely to emerge in 2009, according to Forbes.com

"States are coming up with huge deficits and looking for places to make money," says Eric Menhart, the principal of CyberLaw, a Rockville, Md.-based law firm that concentrates on technology legal issues. "All of a sudden, Internet taxation appears a lot more viable."

Scott Peterson, executive director of the Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board (SSTGB), a group that oversees states' efforts to simplify and modernize sales tax issues, said lawmakers from Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Texas and Virginia, among others, have recently contacted him about the issue. The plan is to reintroduce legislation as early as January when the new Congress takes office.

"We're hoping that the House and Senate will give this their full attention, and we can get a bill to our new president in 2009," said Maureen Riehl, vice president and government and industry relations counsel of the National Retail Federation (NRF), the world's largest retail trade association. The industry association believes that applying sales tax to all retailers is more fair to their membership than the current scenario.

This is an issue that will keep everyone hopping, not to mention up at night.

For more on this developing story:
- check out this Forbes.com article

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Google-Yahoo ad deal delayed

Judi Hasson — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 14:22:39 -0400

Google and Yahoo have agreed to delay launching their search advertising partnership to give the Justice Department more time to investigate its antitrust implications.

"The companies have agreed to a brief delay in implementing this agreement to continue our ongoing discussions with the Department of Justice," Yahoo said. "We have had discussions with regulators and look forward to responding to their questions about this agreement."

The Justice Department could place restrictions on the companies, block the deal altogether or let it proceed without objection. There is little doubt, though, that the transaction is being carefully reviewed. Last month, the department hired Sandy Litvack, a veteran antitrust lawyer, to help assess the evidence gathered by its lawyers.

Several major advertising groups and agencies have opposed the deal, saying it would add to Google's dominance of the search advertising market, and could lead to higher prices. The advertising partnership also has attracted attention and concern in Congress, and a call for close and continual scrutiny.

"Recognizing the nascent and fast-changing nature of this marketplace, we encourage the department to continue to monitor the state of competition in this industry, whatever the outcome of its current investigation," wrote Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) in a letter to the Justice Department. "If, over time, you determine that Google is gaining a dominant market position as a result of the Google-Yahoo agreement, then we would encourage the Justice Department to intervene to protect competition."

Google and Yahoo announced a non-exclusive advertising deal in June that allows Google to run ads alongside Yahoo search results. Both companies have defended the arrangement as beneficial to advertisers.

For more on this deal:
- check out the New York Times article
- also see this InformationWeek article

Congress passes, President signs $700 billion financial bailout bill

Judi Hasson — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:40:22 -0400

The House of Representatives passed the $700 billion bailout bill to help keep the U.S. economy afloat and shore up the nation's stressed out financial industry. The 263-171 vote by the House then sent the Senate-passed version to the White House, where President Bush signed it into law. It is the biggest economic bailout since the Great Depression.

Many members of the House voted for the bill even though they opposed it earlier this week. That vote caused Wall Street to plummet. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called it a vote for "Mr. and Mrs. Jones on Main Street."

For more on the bailout vote:
- see this Wall Street Journal article

Breaking: Deal reached on economic stimulus plan

Judi Hasson — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 16:19:32 -0500

Moving with remarkable speed, the White House and House leaders reached an agreement today for an economic stimulus package that provides tax incentives for businesses and stipends for families to encourage spending. The tentative deal calls for roughly $150 billion to shore up a weak economy. It would give businesses one-time incentives to invest in new equipment and write off tax losses. It would give rebates of $300 to $1,200 per family. The Senate still must agree to the plan. Democratic leaders promised to move the stimulus package with warp speed, bypassing the usual committee process which has been known to slow down important legislation by months. Lawmakers want the plan approved in mid-February. They said it would be strong enough to soften an economic downturn and avoid a recession.

For more on the economic stimulus deal:

- Check out this Washington Post article

H-1B visa fees may be going up

Thu, 25 Oct 2007 06:59:59 -0400

The Senate passed a bill this week that would raise H-1B visa fees to $5,000, up from the $1,500 currently charged. The amendment to the visa fees was contained in a far bigger spending bill that was passed by the Senate on Oct. 24. If the bill is approved by Congress and signed by President Bush, each visa would cost an additional $3,500.

What's a company to do? Well, not much. A spokesman for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) says that if companies want to hire foreign workers for jobs in which they claim there are talent shortages, those companies "should pay to help U.S. students fill those shortages in the longer term."

For more on plans to triple H-1B visa fees:
- see InformationWeek article

Ban on Internet taxes

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 06:59:59 -0400

If you think the government is trying to reach into the pockets of every Internet user, think again. The U.S. House of Representatives took the first steps to extend an Internet tax moratorium for four years, even though the tech industry wants to permanently bar state and local governments from taxing Internet access. The issue is a hot one because governments are always looking for ways to raise money. And what better way than going after the growing use of the Internet? The U.S. House of Representatives has voted to extend an Internet tax moratorium for just four years, despite calls from the tech industry to permanently bar state and local governments from taxing Internet access. The House voted to pass the Internet Tax Freedom Act Amendments by 405-2 this week. The proposal would extend the moratorium on Internet access taxes and other taxes unique to the Internet until November 2011. But don't breathe a sigh of relief yet. The Senate still has to pass the same measure. And the House bill narrows the definition of Internet access, allowing state and local governments to tax Internet-related services such as VoIP.

For more on net taxation:
- see this Infoworld article

Hiring Talent In A Competitive Climate

Sun, 03 Jun 2007 20:01:37 -0400

Katherine Spencer Lee of Robert Half Technology explains that attracting the most qualified IT candidate can be difficult in today's current market. She points to Bill Gates' recent testimony before the Senate requesting an increased allowance for IT staff from foreign countries. However, she writes in CIOUpdate that there are several strategies that CIOs can take to simplify the process, which include building industry buzz by speaking at user-group meetings and writing articles for technology publications or web sites.

For more on hiring in today's market:
- see this article from CIO Update

Bill may strengthen security requirements for databases

Thu, 08 Feb 2007 19:01:38 -0500

A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate this week will strengthen requirements for all online databases that hold personal information. The Personal Data Privacy and Security Act of 2007, currently in discussion, would basically hold IT managers responsible for security breaches when personal information is stolen. The law would require companies with databases containing sensitive personal information to implement stringent data privacy and security programs and to notify law enforcement officials whenever access of that data by unauthorized individuals is detected.

Read more about the new database security bill:
- read the article at BetaNews

ALSO NOTED: Senate makes pretexting a crime; How mobile devices are helping U.K. law enforcement do a better job; and much more

Sun, 10 Dec 2006 19:01:33 -0500

> Senate makes pretexting a crime. Article

> How mobile devices are helping U.K. law enforcement do a better job. Article

> A look at Cisco's new business strategy and focus. Article

> Research: Why data encryption is going mainstream. Article

And Finally... Santa has a chimney trick one man doesn't know about. Article

Pretexting bill in Senate's hands

Thu, 07 Dec 2006 19:01:36 -0500

In the wake of the HP spying scandal, in which executives may still face criminal charges, the U.S. Senate is preparing to formally make pretexting an illegal activity. It's a legislative move that's been pending since the spring when the House of Representatives voted unanimously on a bill that would make pretexting a crime with a possible prison sentence of 10 years.

For more on the new spying law:
- read the news at News.com