House bill would allow a credit of up to $2,500 credit for IT-training A bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives this month would allow employers and workers a tax credit of up to $2,500 for IT-related training for a wide range of jobs.The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), a trade group that offers IT training courses, praised the legislation, introduced Nov. 15 by Representatives Jerry Weller, an Illinois Republican, and Mike Honda, a California Democrat.“Having up-to-date information and communications technology skills means being competitive, productive and ever-employable in our global economy,” CompTIA said in a statement. This is the third time an IT training tax credit bill has been introduced in Congress, the first being in 2000, when there was a projected IT worker shortage in the U.S., said Grant Mydland, CompTIA’s director of government relations. But even after the dot-com bust, IT competency remains an important part of most U.S. jobs, and workers with IT skills are more employable, he said.“IT skills are to the 21st century what literacy was to the 19th century,” he said.With recent debates in Congress about a shortage of U.S. scientists, the legislation should gain some traction in Congress by next year, Mydland said. The Technology Retraining and Investment Now Act for the 21st Century, or TRAIN Act, would allow workers or employers to take a tax credit of up to half of a qualified $4,000 IT training program. The bill would allow a tax credit of up to $2,500 for small businesses and businesses or workers in rural or economically depressed areas. The tax credit covers course costs, including textbooks and other materials.The tax credit would go to whoever paid for the training, either the employer or worker.The bill would allow a range of workers, not just IT workers, to take advantage of the tax credit, Mydland said. “This is not just a tax credit for high tech,” he said. “It’s a tax credit for anybody.” The bill would establish an advisory board that would approve a list of IT certifications and college courses that qualify for the tax credit and set guidelines to approve training providers.A spokesman for Weller wasn’t immediately available for comment Tuesday, but Weller talked about the need for an IT training tax credit when he introduced similar legislation in May 2004.“Investment in computer education and information technology skills training is the best long-term solution to … keep technology-based jobs here in the United States,” Weller said then. “This initiative will train U.S. workers for better jobs here in the U.S.” Technology Industry