New Bill Proposes Tech Training Tax Credit


WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Jerry Weller (R-Ill.) hopes to slow the technology offshoring trend with an initiative to provide up to an $8,000 tax credit for information and communications technology education and training expenses.

The credit can be used by both employed and unemployed workers, as
well as employers.


Weller’s Technology Retraining And Investment Now Act of 2004 (TRAIN) calls
for the proposed tax credit to be applied to a broad range of programs, from
vocational and/or private certification courses to related college expenses.


“Investment in computer education and information technology skills training
is the best long-term solution to meet the shortage of skilled IT workers
and keep technology-based jobs here in the United States,” Weller said at a
Capitol Hill press conference.


With less than six months remaining in the 108th Congress, Weller admitted
his new legislation has little chance as a standalone measure, but he hopes
to attach the bill in the form of an amendment to any number of bills still
pending before Congress.


The most likely target Weller might try would be the Jumpstart Our Business Strength (JOBS) Act approved
last week by the Senate. The companion bill in the House has not been
approved.


“TRAIN is designed to help either the worker or the employer recover the
cost of IT and computer skills training,” said Weller. “If a worker seeking
the opportunity for higher paying technology-based jobs invests in tuition
to learn computer and information technology skills, TRAIN will give them a
tax credit to reduce the cost.”


The bill provides a tax credit for an amount equal to 50 percent of
information and communications technology training program expenses incurred
with the amount of expenses for any one individual not exceed $8,000 per
year. The amount may increase to $10,000 in certain circumstances.


“This doesn’t just cover the programmers. It also includes engineers,
machinists, architects, call center workers and others who must continuously
upgrade their skills to keep up with changes in technology and others who
might want to learn a new skill for a different type of employment,” Weller
said.


Training program expenses include those paid or incurred in any information
and communications technology education and training program, including
course work, certification testing and other “expenses that are essential to
assessing skill acquisition.”


Weller said neither the cost of the bill nor the specific training programs
to be covered by the legislation has been determined.


“TRAIN represents R&D for the American worker. Retraining and ongoing
development of information and communications training skills across all
sectors of our economy is a must, yet the tools that drive our
knowledge-based economy are constantly evolving,” Weller said.


The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) appeared with Weller
at the press conference to show its support for the bill.


“Businesses spend over $70 billion a year training employees, ensuring they
have the skills needed to pump out the products and services the world
desires,” said Martin Bean, chair of CompTIA’s U.S. public policy committee
and COO of New Horizons Computer Learning Centers.”


Bean added said information and communications technology skills are “today’s
raw materials, not unlike lumber, bricks and steel. They’re the
infrastructure America needs to keep the U.S. on top. Perpetuating a culture
of updated and dynamic skill sets is the best way to stay employed, and,
where displacements occur, reduce the time lost searching for the next job.”


The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that by 2012, nearly 22 million new
jobs, such as in transportation, biotech, healthcare and communications,
will be created in America. At the same time, however, a significant portion
of the aging workforce will be retiring.


“The pipeline has to be primed now,” said Bean. “American workers are no
longer the presumptive leaders just because they’re American. TRAIN will
help Americans fill these jobs, many of which can and will be competed for
by foreign [IT-skilled] laborers.”

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