States gear up to work on AI
Startup policy outlook under second Trump term
Executive coaching should be accessible to anyone who is interested, but oftentimes scaling the education is not practical. With her company Zella Life, co-founder Remy Meraz is democratizing professional development using AI. We sat down with her to discuss AI, independent contractors, and more.
After working in the financial sector for over 20 years, Mical Jeanlys-White founded her own company, WealthMore, a wealth tech with a focus on tackling a key financial barrier—wealth building and management. Her company leverages technology to connect everyday Americans with accessible wealth management services, aiming to provide wealth creation for all. We sat down with her to discuss her journey in raising capital, navigating tax policy, the evolving role of AI, and more.
Vance Reavie is no stranger to entrepreneurship. Using his knowledge from previous ventures, he created an AI platform that intelligently automates manual marketing and merchandising workflows and content generation processes for brands and retailers. We sat down with Vance to discuss the startup ecosystem in Arkansas, AI policy and regulation, grant opportunities, and more.
The Big Story: Senate setting up broadband boost as part of infrastructure package. As the Senate moves toward passing the $1 trillion infrastructure bill, startups stand to gain from provisions in the bill that would increase reliable, accessible, and affordable broadband across the country. Although the bill has faced hurdles as it is being considered on the Senate floor—including significant pushback from the cryptocurrency community—the bill overall is a win for startups and Internet users.
The Big Story: LIKE Act provides hope for startup visas
A new bill in Congress would create more opportunities for foreign-born innovators and strengthen our diverse startup ecosystem. This week, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), chair of the House Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship, introduced the Let Immigrants Kickstart Employment (LIKE) Act, legislation that would enable foreign-born innovators who meet certain investment benchmarks to embark on their entrepreneurial endeavors in the U.S., while also providing them with a pathway to permanent residency. A startup visa is more critical than ever, as other countries continue to attract founders through visas and investment in entrepreneurial infrastructure.
The Big Story: Patent Quality Week examines startups’ need for balance. Today we close out our inaugural Patent Quality Week where we partnered with numerous organizations to showcase the importance of patent quality from a variety of perspectives and industries.
The Big Story: As Congress pushes ahead on infrastructure, startups stand to gain. Congress has the chance to move the ball forward on an infrastructure package that if passed, would provide billions of dollars for several categories of infrastructure, including roads and bridges, electric vehicles, cybersecurity, and broadband—a major win for startups.
The Big Story: Global leaders land on tax deal that would create certainty for tech. Negotiations on a global tax regime came to a close on Thursday, with 130 countries and jurisdictions—including India, China, and Switzerland—agreeing to a deal supported by U.S. policymakers and technology companies that targets the world’s largest companies.
The Big Story: After marathon markup, House panel advances tech bills. Following a multi-day, contentious markup, the House Judiciary Committee advanced several bills aimed at large tech companies despite concerns from companies, industry groups, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle that the bills will have unintended consequences—including making it harder for startups to get acquired.
The Big Story: Recognizing the contributions of immigrant entrepreneurs. Throughout the month of June, we celebrate Immigrant Heritage Month and recognize the impact of the immigrant community in the U. S., including on the country’s startup ecosystem. As the nation reflects on the significant contributions of this community as a whole, it is important to acknowledge and uplift the stories of immigrant entrepreneurs and recognize the challenges these founders face.
The Big Story: G7 tax deal reached, but faces uncertainty in U.S. Congress. This week, the finance leaders of the G7 countries came to an agreement on a global minimum corporate tax rate of at least 15 percent, which could hinge on the withdrawal of unilateral digital services taxes that disproportionately impact U.S. tech firms. The deal, which comes after years of negotiations in an effort to revamp international taxation, represents a first step in redrafting the rules in how multinational corporations are taxed.
The Big Story: Transatlantic data deal a priority ahead of U.S.-EU summit. Ahead of the U.S.-European Union summit later this month, President Joe Biden is renewing the administration’s focus on negotiating a new deal to let U.S. companies, especially startups, that operate in Europe store and process EU users’ data in the U.S. The two governments must address policy-related obstacles to transatlantic digital trade, including the invalidation of the last data flow deal as well as likely impacts from other EU proposals around digital taxes, artificial intelligence, and online platforms and marketplaces.
The Big Story: Lawmakers consider SHOP SAFE Act despite outsized impact on e-commerce startups. This week, lawmakers examined the recently reintroduced SHOP SAFE Act, which would place high compliance burdens on e-commerce startups with the goal of deterring trademark infringement. The bill was the subject of yesterday’s hearing held by the House Judiciary’s Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet.
TLDR: As federal officials hold hearings on potential action against countries that have enacted their own digital services taxes (DSTs), U.S. startups remain concerned that they could be affected by the digital levies in the form of higher costs for needed services, or even subjected to the new taxes themselves. Rather than imposing unilateral DSTs that harm startup growth, countries and global officials should work to reach a uniform digital tax framework that provides certainty for Internet companies of all sizes.
The Big Story: Biden unveils infrastructure plan with broadband, tax proposals. President Joe Biden announced an ambitious $2 trillion proposal this week that would rely on a combination of spending and tax credits to upgrade and expand the nation’s infrastructure. In addition to devoting billions of dollars towards upgrading schools, improving roads and bridges, and spurring a shift towards clean energy sources, the plan would also allocate $100 billion towards the expansion of broadband to narrow the nation’s digital divide. In a speech on Wednesday announcing his infrastructure plan, President Biden said the connectivity funding would “make sure every single American has access to high-quality, affordable high-speed Internet.”
TLDR: As federal officials seek public input regarding the response to countries that have enacted digital services taxes (DSTs) on U.S. Internet companies, the startup community remains concerned that they will be affected by the levies in the form of increased costs for the services and products they rely upon. While the Biden administration and global officials work to reach a uniform digital tax framework, it’s critical that countries—and even U.S. states—refrain from imposing their own digital services taxes that could harm startup formation and success.
In a new Medium post, Engine announced the launch of our Startup Agenda 2021, which outlines the policy priorities of the U.S. startup community. The Startup Agenda 2021 covers a range of policy issues that include capital access, connectivity, intellectual property, privacy, and more. As we explain in our post below, there are startups in every state and congressional district across the country, and their perspective is especially critical if policymakers hope to craft rules and regulations that boost innovation and competition.
TLDR: As intergovernmental organizations and countries continue to discuss implementing their own digital services tax (DST) frameworks on multinational Internet companies, France has notified large online platforms that they must begin paying the country’s levy this month while Canada recently announced plans to impose its own DST. Although most DSTs under consideration—as well as those that have already been implemented—target large, mostly U.S.-based tech companies, the startup community remains concerned that the burden of the taxes will be passed on to smaller companies and users in the form of increased costs for products and services.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cripple economic growth across the globe, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and policymakers need to be prepared for trading partners seeking to recoup lost revenues through new international taxation measures. Specifically, more nations are considering implementing or have implemented digital services tax (DST) frameworks that would largely discriminatorily target U.S. tech companies to help cover budgetary shortfalls.
As negotiations continue on a trade deal between the United States and the United Kingdom, it is crucial that policymakers push for balanced and commonsense intellectual property frameworks around the world so that startups can grow globally. This July, the U.S. and the U.K. entered the third round of negotiations on an expected trade agreement, following the U.K.’s withdrawal from the European Union earlier this year. While a number of topics are on the table, including critical digital trade provisions, the intellectual property provisions will prove essential to U.S. startups.
The United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA) signed by President Donald Trump this morning is a welcome step for startups looking to innovate and grow on a global scale. USMCA has been hailed as a template for future trade agreements between the U.S. and other countries, and we’re pleased that the deal includes startup-friendly provisions that defend IP rights and promote intermediary liability protections.
Engine submitted comments this week to the United States Trade Representative addressing the potential U.S. response to France’s enactment of a Digital Services Tax. The retroactive three percent tax would be levied on certain large firms providing online intermediation services and digital advertising sales with a revenue of 750 million euros globally and 25 million euros in France.
Your privacy is important to us. To better protect your privacy we provide this notice explaining our online information practices and the choices you can make about the way your information is collected and used.
