About TAO The Technology Association of Oregon s vision is to create a world-class, inclusive innovation economy in Oregon, and that requires coordination with a variety of sectors public, private, nonprofit, and academic. 300+ Companies Represented by TAO Representing over 300 member companies, the Technology Association of Oregon (TAO) works with our federal, state, and local officials to promote sound public policies to ensure the continued growth and success of Oregon s technology industry and increase opportunities for economic development in the state. TAO has a lobbyist in Salem, Oregon, who works closely with the TAO Advocacy Committee and the government affairs teams of our member companies. TAO members enjoy regular legislative updates and exclusive opportunities to engage with key elected officials and economic development leaders across Oregon. TAO supports legislation and initiatives that: Improve the business environment for Oregon s technology industry. Train and attract talent required to compete globally. Increase access to sources of capital that encourage entrepreneurship. Key Contacts Beth Cooke Lobbyist, TAO beth@innovaresnw.com Skip Newberry President, TAO skip.newberry@techoregon.org 2015 Technology Association of Oregon. Visit at techoregon.org. Powered by Metal Toad, metaltoad.com.
Oregon Talent Council and CTE-STEM The current talent shortage is the technology industry s most critical issue. It threatens our long-term growth and development within Oregon. TAO supports the creation of the Oregon Talent Council (OTC). 2,300+ Open Portland Tech Jobs The Oregon Talent Council (OTC) will provide increased economic competitiveness for Oregon industry, improved career opportunities for Oregonians, and an integrated state strategy for talent aligned with regional strategic priorities. The OTC is a central voice for industry for issues of talent. Specifically, the OTC: Links strategic industry growth opportunities with educational capacity. Offers recommendations on how to build a skilled talent pipeline that serves the array of statewide industries that rely heavily on technical and scientific skills. Connects and aligns efforts of state agencies involved in talent development and directs 40-40- 20 initiatives to areas of highest economic and societal value. Oregon s technology industry currently has thousands of job openings. These are skilled family-wage jobs in the Oregon economy that are either going unfilled or are filled by out-of-state applicants because not enough Oregonians have the math, science, and applied technical education required. This is costly to our enterprises, our economy, our tax base, and to our citizens. Where the Oregon Talent Council is focused on developing the employees of today, we must also address our future talent concerns. Employers concerned about this problem have come together to form the Oregon CTE-STEM Employer Coalition to support state policy changes and investments for math, science, and technical education that connect to well paying jobs and careers. 2015 Technology Association of Oregon. Visit at techoregon.org. Powered by Metal Toad, metaltoad.com.
Oregon Center of Cyber-Excellence Oregon has more than 200 companies that are directly engaged in cyber-related industries, technologies and solutions. In addition, cyber awareness and security affect almost every business, large and small, across the state. 1 Center Will Improve Internal Security and Protect Consumers in the State Unlike most other states, Oregon has no coordinated support to strengthen our cyber capabilities for strategic benefit and to assist in responding to increasing threats that could affect business viability and our economy. Cyber-security isn t just a Computer Science problem anymore. And it isn t just out there : hacking, data piracy, and cybercrime are increasingly hazardous for both business and government in Oregon and globally. There are no magic bullets to make it go away. Cyber-expertise is increasingly important to a larger number of industries and a cyber-savvy workforce is hard to maintain in any organization. TAO supports the creation of the Oregon Center of Cyber-Excellence. The Center will help meet the state s desire to improve internal security and protect consumers in the state. The Center will also coordinate cyber-security education, share cyber-expertise, and disseminate best practices; and facilitate cyber-security research. A single center makes it easier and more efficient for industry to partner with and invest in all Oregon schools including community colleges, trade schools, universities, and other career readiness programs. To learn more please visit: http://www.techoregon.org/ocoe 2015 Technology Association of Oregon. Visit at techoregon.org. Powered by Metal Toad, metaltoad.com.
Central Assessment The Oregon Department of Revenue is seeking to expand the scope of technology companies that are subject to taxes centrally assessed by the State of Oregon. $1 Billion Planned New Investments in Jeopardy due to Ruling Uncertainty Two proposed rules are at issue: 50-308.515-(A) The purpose of this rule is to provide guidance about central assessment of communication companies in light of the recent Comcast vs. Department of Revenue Supreme Court Opinion. 150-308.516(3)(b)(A) The purpose of this rule is to provide guidance about what tangible real and personal property is considered by the department in evaluating the five-percent test to determine whether a data center is centrally assessed. The uncertainty surrounding the Oregon Department of Revenue s proposed rule making is troubling for many technology firms in Oregon. In particular, it places in jeopardy over $1 billion in planned new investments in the state, as well as the state s position as an attractive destination for future investments in critical technology infrastructure (see the report, attached, provided courtesy of CBRE). We are asking the Department of Revenue to exclude datacenters from its definition of communication companies because data centers do not transmit data, which means they should not be subject to central assessment. 2015 Technology Association of Oregon. Visit at techoregon.org. Powered by Metal Toad, metaltoad.com.
2015 Oregon Tech Industry Report Firms 3,000 Workers 58,000 Payroll 6,000,000,000 1 2 3 4 5 Corvallis Portland Durham, NC Beaumont, TX San Jose, CA ICT industry is comprised of 3,000 firms, 58,000 workers, with an annual payroll of $6B Measured per capita, Corvallis is most productive in U.S. and PDX is 2nd from 2001 to 2011 GDP ICT INDUSTRY NO. 2 Average wages of ICT workers in Oregon are 2X the state average ICT industry is 2nd most productive in U.S. from 2001 to 2011 as measured in GDP 1 2015 Technology Association of Oregon, www.techoregon.org Design by Copious, www.copio.us Powered by Metal Toad, metaltoad.com
2015 Oregon Tech Industry Report 2001 2011 PDX INFORMATION & COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY GDP 2001 Measured in GDP, ICT industry in PDX is fastest growing in U.S. from 2001 to 2011 40% of ICT jobs result from firms new to Oregon since 2001 LARGEST EMPLOYERS NO. 9 STARTUP DENSITY Only 5 of top 40 largest employers in 1998 have expanded since; the rest contracted, closed or were acquired PDX is 9 in U.S. startup density 2 2015 Technology Association of Oregon, www.techoregon.org Design by Copious, www.copio.us Powered by Metal Toad, metaltoad.com
Oregon Tech Industry Challenges Talent Supply Strengths: Engineering talent, customer support and services. Weakness: Experienced executive talent. Research & Development Challenge: Oregon lacks a top-tier research university in technology. Solution: Develop centers of excellence with local research universities that build on existing strengths. Examples: Technology and healthcare; technology and sports/ apparel; technology and storytelling/journalism. STRONG Engineering Talent Leverage strengths in mobile technology, open source business models, connected devices, and software. WEAK Executive Talent SPORTS & APPAREL STORYTELLING & JOURNALISM HEALTHCARE 3 2015 Technology Association of Oregon, www.techoregon.org Design by Copious, www.copio.us Powered by Metal Toad, metaltoad.com
Oregon Tech Industry Challenges Scalable Infrastructure Millions of people are projected to relocate to Oregon in the next ten years, and our infrastructure must be improved to handle this influx of new residents. The role of the public sector should be to provide and maintain reliable, scalable infrastructure. Examples of areas needing attention: transit, schools, land use, regulatory environment, connectivity and bandwidth. SCHOOLS Tax Policy Attracting More Executive-Level Talent: A relatively high capital gains tax can be a factor in recruiting top c-level talent because most executives are compensated with variable compensation, which is subject to capital gains. A relatively high income tax can also be a factor. Capital Formation: With regard to capital formation, when an entrepreneur, investor, or site-selector is deciding on a location for an early-stage company, one factor that will be considered is the impact of the taxing jurisdiction in the event of a liquidity event (e.g., sale, merger, IPO). In this way, a relatively high capital gains tax can work against efforts to attract early-stage companies and entrepreneurs to Oregon. LAND USE CONNECTIVITY C-LEVEL TALENT CAPITAL FORMATION PUBLIC SECTOR HIGH CAPITAL GAINS $ 4 2015 Technology Association of Oregon, www.techoregon.org Design by Copious, www.copio.us Powered by Metal Toad, metaltoad.com