Workforce
Silicon Valley scores another immigration victory in Washington. A broad immigration reform package moved one step closer to passing through Congress on Tuesday, and the high-tech community took another step forward in solidifying its lobbying influence in Washington. “Simply put, these improvements strike a careful balance,” Andy Halataei, director of government relations for the Information Technology Industry Council, a trade group, wrote in a blog post about the Hatch-Schumer deal. He argued that the senators’ compromise would provide “access to critically needed talent and skills while protecting American workers.” (Washington Post)
Reid Says Immigration Bill to Reach Senate Floor in June. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he will bring the “strong bipartisan” immigration bill approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee to the chamber’s floor in June. (Bloomberg)
Immigration bill gets Senate boost; House effort teetering. Supporters of U.S. immigration reform are hoping that the smooth and drama-free passage of their legislation through a Senate committee - a departure from almost everything that has happened in Congress over the past four years - will boost the likelihood of the bill winning full Senate approval. (Reuters)
Tech visa debate heads to House. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) will unveil an immigration bill that will boost the number of visas for highly skilled workers at an event Thursday morning. (The Hill)
Engineers See a Path Out of Green Card Limbo. Born overseas and educated in the United States, workers in the heart of the tech industry are in a kind of suspension as the Senate considers the immigration bill. (NYT)
High-skilled immigration: What to watch. Tech has a front seat as the bill moves to the Senate floor and the House comes into play. (Politico)
Immigration reform 'iMarch' launches. The online forum is the first major effort by Michael Bloomberg and Rupert Murdoch's group. (Politico)
Tax
Multinationals (Not Main Street) are the Key to Job Growth. Despite the fact that we are one of the only nations with a worldwide system of taxation (that requires U.S. multinationals to pay US taxes on foreign earnings when they bring them home), this notion is actually wrong. It is actually in the interest of non-multinational U.S. firms for multinationals to pay less in taxes. Here’s why. (ITIF blog/Rob Atkinson)
Google boss calls for a 'rational and predictable international tax system'. Eric Schmidt rejects Ed Miliband's criticisms of tax affairs, saying firm fears being 'double or quadruple taxed' under any changes. (The Guardian)
Europe Pushes to Shed Stigma of Being a Tax Haven. From Luxembourg to the British Virgin Islands, the authorities are scrambling to figure out how to change their secretive ways without driving away lucrative foreign clients. (NYT)
Ireland says will not be U.S. 'whipping boy' on tax. Ireland's finance minister said the country would not be the "whipping boy" for what he called a flawed U.S. Senate report that said Irish loopholes helped technology giant Apple shrink its tax bill. (Reuters)
Push on corporate taxes goes global. A global effort to tighten corporate tax rules is gaining momentum as Europe and the U.S. take aim at American tech giants. (Washington Post)
Cybersecurity & Privacy
Hackers Find China Is Land of Opportunity. Hacking in China thrives across official, corporate and criminal worlds and is openly discussed and promoted, whether for breaking into private networks, tracking dissent or stealing trade secrets. (NYT)
Twitter Boosts Security After Hack Attack. Twitter Inc. is adding a new security tool to its website, making it harder for outsiders to gain access to accounts, a month after a false posting triggered a stock-market decline. (Bloomberg)
'Hacking Back' Could Deter Chinese Cyberattacks, Report Says. A group assessing China's role in stealing trade secrets from American companies wants the U.S. government to consider a controversial method for protecting those firms from Chinese hackers: Let them hack back. (Huffington Post)
How hard is it to opt out of third party data collection? A lot of businesses are buying so-called third party data to add to what they’re already collecting on you. Of course, they all say, “you can always opt out.” (Marketplace)
Global Trade
Japanese Union Confederation Attends TPP Round To Gather Information. Representatives from JTUC-RENGO, Japan's umbrella union confederation, attended the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) round here to gather information that will be used to develop an internal position on the TPP talks, which Japan is slated to join in late July, sources said. (Inside US Trade)
It won't be easy to build an 'anyone but China' club. No one will say it out loud, but the unstated aim of the TPP is to create a “high level” trade ... To further that aim, TPP rules will penalise China in some areas. (FT)
Wary of China, U.S. Steps Into Sprint's Board. SoftBank is readying a plan to allow the U.S. government an unusual level of influence over the operations of Sprint, a concession to ease security concerns raised by the proposed cross-border takeover. (WSJ)
IP Enforcement
Former US officials recommend penalties for foreign companies using stolen American IP. The federal government should impose penalties on foreign companies that use intellectual property (IP) stolen from American businesses via cyberattacks, according to a report released Wednesday by a commission co-chaired by former administration officials. (The Hill)
Sen. Cornyn targets patent trolls with new bill. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) introduced legislation on Wednesday aimed at cracking down on abusive patent litigation. (The Hill)
Mobility
India mobile data consumption climbs. Country sees a 92 percent increase in mobile data traffic last year, driven by both 2G and 3G services, reveals MBit Index study. (ZDNet)
Tech Business
Microsoft Research VP on wearable tech: 'The next several months will be very exciting'. Microsoft brought the technology it introduced at its TechFair in Seattle this spring to Washington, demo-ing it for lawmakers and other visitors. But the XBox one was nowhere in sight. (Washington Post)
Broad Reshuffle at HTC. Several senior executives at HTC have left the company in recent weeks, signaling a broader management shake-up at the struggling smartphone maker and putting a spotlight on CEO Peter Chou. (WSJ)