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Actions by the European Commission are drawing attention from the highest levels of the U.S. government as concerns rise about the disproportionate scrutiny of U.S. based companies, the impact on the U.S. Treasury, and the potential undermining of long-standing international tax standards. In recent months, the European Commission has handed down decisions in two cases involving tax arrangements reached [...]
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An unexpected break from the norm happened in Washington last year – despite all predictions to the contrary, Congress and the President actually got to work and produced several bipartisan wins for the technology sector and our economy in general. We give credit where credit is due, and we applaud Congress and the President for working together to advance these policies in 2015 that affect the growth [...]
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When the president of the student engineering association at the Cuban polytechnic institute (CUJAE), was asked why he chose to go into engineering, I don’t think I was fully prepared for his answer: “Me permite soñar,” he said. “It allows me to dream.” Last week, I had the opportunity to travel to Cuba as part of a delegation, led by the U.S. Ambassador and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for [...]
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On February 2nd and 3rd, European privacy regulators will meet to decide how to move forward on one of the most important issues to face the transatlantic economic relationship in years: the terms for keeping citizens and businesses connected across the Atlantic. At stake is whether both European and American companies will be able to run their businesses, develop exciting new products and services, [...]
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Last week I had the privilege of attending various side meetings held in conjunction with the United Nations High Level Meeting on WSIS+10 (World Summit on the Information Society), a ten-year review of progress in advancing digital access in the developing world. At the conclusion of the session, the General Assembly took a bold stand in reaffirming multistakeholder governance of the Internet as an [...]
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Last week, ITI led a group of tech associations in sending a letter to India Prime Minister Modi supporting a change in policy to allow importing of valuable spare parts and equipment. Prime Minister Modi is one of the most influential world leaders on social media and is an avid user of technology, so we will also tweet the letter and hope the Prime Minister will notice it during his busy schedule. [...]
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As world leaders, business executives, the scientific community, and others meet in Paris for the COP-21 summit it is clear that the question is no longer whether our climate is changing, but how do we meet the environmental, economic, and societal challenges a changing climate will pose to humanity. Rather than accept an imperiled future, technology companies know that we can innovate and help create [...]
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It was all about Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) for Congressional tax writers Tuesday. A number of experts testified on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) sprawling international tax project at hearings Tuesday morning at the House Ways and Means Committee, and that afternoon at the Senate Finance Committee. As discussed in an earlier TechWonk blog, the topic [...]
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On November 19, the U.S. Department of Commerce and Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry, and Foreign Trade convened in Brasilia for the 13th plenary meeting of the U.S.-Brazil Commercial Dialogue. ITI traveled to Brazil to join this bilateral trade discussion where trade leaders and industry representatives met to discuss topics ranging from trade and investment to standards. Despite the sometimes [...]
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Last week, the IT Alliance for Public Sector (ITAPS) filed formal comments urging the state of Oregon to develop a template of contractual terms for Software-As-A-Service (SaaS) that would be forward-thinking and appropriate for this emerging technology. While the state happened to be Oregon, the message from ITAPS is one that pertains to any state – in fact, it could apply to all states. Commercial [...]
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