Several states across the U.S., as well as the federal government, are keeping a close eye on the results in the Grand Canyon State. But while many outside of Arizona are fascinated with the new law, the people whom the bill is meant to affect heads of IT departments at small and midsize companies in the state apparently have no idea that the law was passed and thus have no intention of taking advantage of it. This is the struggling start of the IT training tax credit movement, which is becoming a sequel of sorts to the H-1B visa expansion of last year. At both the national and state levels, lawmakers are pushing legislation that would use the tax code to encourage workers to learn IT skills. Supporters say this is necessary to fill the ongoing technical worker shortage.
Skeptics argue that companies are trying to foist their expenses onto the government.
Since the technology tax credit legislation is meant to fill worker shortages, the tax credits should go only to people being trained in skills that are in short supply. In Arizona, that's where Steve Partridge, director of the office of workforce development at the state's Department of Commerce, comes in, trying to determine what skills are in demand. Eventually, he gave up. The regulations will define short supply as anything for which a particular company has a need. If a company sends someone for training, that will be evidence that the skill is in demand and deserving of the tax credit.