Category: Past Blogs

IC-DISC: a Way to Reduce Income Tax for Exporters

January 27, 2011
We partnered with our members MANTEC and Stambaugh Ness for a webinar presentation on “Tax Benefits for Companies that Export Goods and Services” , which was offered on January 27 and is available for anyone interested at the Stambaugh Ness website.  Follow this link and you can listen to the entire webinar at your convenience.
Jolleen E. Biesecker, Stambaugh Ness’ Tax Director, provided a great overview of the tax device called the Interest Charge Domestic International Sales Corporation, or IC-DISC. The IC-DISC allows exporters of goods and services to defer income tax from profits on export sales and potentially pay qualified dividends to owners at a 15% tax rate.
There have been other tax devices in the past, which have been challenged by the World Trade Organization and subsequently repealed, but the IC-DISC remains a valid alternative. 
Some of you may remember that in 1984 the DISC, or Domestic International Sales Corporation, was challenged as an illegal export subsidy and repealed.  The DISC was replaced with the Foreign Sales Corporation, or FSC, which also allowed a partial tax exemption for exporters.  In 1999, the World Trade Organization ruled that the FSC also constituted and illegal export subsidy, and thus it too was repealed.  In 2000, the “extraterritorial income exclusion”, or EIE, was instituted, which again provided tax benefits for exporters, but the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 dealt a significant blow to U.S. exporters by phasing out the EIE.  Prior to the phase-out of the EIE, the IC-DISC received scant attention in the business world. But it’s once again in the spotlight as a useful tool.

Legal Issues Overview Starts 2011 Seminar Series

January 15, 2011
We were off to a great start in 2011 with our first program focusing on legal issues of exporting. 
WTC member Louis Dejoie,  Chair of the International Law Practice Group with McNees, Wallace and Nurick LLC presented the executive overview.  Here is a summary of key topics:
  
§     EXPORT SALE BASICS
  – legal framework of sales contracts
  – INCOTERMs
§     USE OF FOREIGN INTERMEDIARIES
  –  issues to consider regarding intermediary relationships, including those of agents, distributors and employees stationed in a foreign country  such as labor laws, termination laws, registration and antitrust laws
  – due diligence when choosing an intermediary 
  – Know Your Partner!!!
§     IP PROTECTION
  – patents, trademarks and copyright issues
§     COMPLIANCE PROGRAMS
  –  Importance of having formal written policies and procedures
  –  Appoint an Export Compliance Officer
  – EAR, ITAC and OFAC

Business Roundtable with Kenyan Ambassador

December 18, 2010
We were honored to be partnering with Senator Brubaker to host H.E. Ambassador Elkanah Odembo, Kenyan Ambassador to the United States for a business roundtable on December 17th.  The Linden School for Girls in Lititz generously donated space for the event and the US-Kenya Chamber of Commerce was instrumental in arranging this opportunity.   Ambassador Odembo provided an overview of Kenya’s growing economy, stressing opportunities in the energy sector.  Here are some highlights:
 Kenya is a Key Trading Partner of the United States

  • Over $1 billion in annual trade (imports and exports)
  • U.S. Exports to Kenya total around $600 million annually
  • U.S. Exports include Aircraft, Industrial Machinery, Electrical Machinery, Vehicles, Cereals, Vegetable Oils, and Coarse Grains with opportunities for more product and service introductions.

Kenya is East Africa’s largest regional economy with a sophisticated and highly deregulated free market that is experiencing aggressive growth in the following sectors:
  •  Infrastructure Development
  • Renewable and Alternative Energy
  •  Information Communications Technologies
  • Finance and Banking
  • Agri-Business and Agro-Processing
  • Tourism and other industries 
  • Manufacturing
  • Healthcare

    Senator Brubaker and Ambassador Odembo

    Annual Holiday Luncheon Focus was Poland

    December 4, 2010
    Magda Kubiak and Ann Moffitt

    Over 70 members and guests attended the WTC’s annual holiday luncheon at the Out Door Country Club in York this year.  As always, we had one of our members present information about  holidays and gift giving practices in a specific country.  Our featured member was Keystone Human Services and attendees had a chance to learn more about the many services that Keystone provides – not just in the southcentral PA region, but worldwide.  Ann Moffitt, Vice President of Community Development for Keystone Human Services and CEO of Keystone Partnership shared more about the agencies activities in Russia and Moldova and explained how Keystone Human Services hosts foreign social workers and graduate students to introduce them to how social services are administered in the United States.  Ann then turned the program over to Magda Kubiak, a graduate student from Poland currently doing her internship with Keystone Human Services.  Magda gave a wonderful presentation about Polish holiday customs, including the foods associated with various festivities.

    Here is a brief listing of the major holidays in Poland:

    u January, 1st – New Year’s Day
    u January, 6th – Epiphany
    u Spring – Easter
    u May, 1st – Labor Day
    u May, 3rd – Constitution Day
    u 9th Thursday after Easter – Corpus Christi
    u August, 15th – Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary; Polish Army Day
    u November, 1st – All Saints’ Day
    u November, 11th – Independence Day
    u December 25th, 26th – Christmas

    We would like to thank our sponsors, whose generous support helped make this event possibe:  MANTEC, Inc. and Cumberland County Economic Development.

    Worldwide Use of Social Media

    October 18, 2010
    We researched the global utilization of social media – specifically looking at Facebook, Linked-In and Twitter, since the WTC is active on those sites and has international connections on all three. Here are some findings as of August 2010:
    • LinkedIn has 70 million members in over 200 countries
    • 50% of LinkedIn users are outside the US
    • Over 500 million Facebook users
    • 70% of Facebook users are outside the US
    • Over 60% of registered Twitter accounts are outside the US

    A Pictorial Review of the 2010 PA Trade Reps Visit to Central PA:

    September 29, 2010
    Around 7:00 am – the WTC team is ready for the day!

    One-on-one meetings with PA companies and PA Trade Reps from Japan
    PA Senator Mike Brubaker stopped by the event in the morning to say hello to the PA Trade Reps, here he is with Steven Zou, the trade representative from Beijing, China

     

    Senator Brubaker with Vladimir Gololobov, trade representative for Saudi Arabia 

    Meetings with PA trade reps continue throughout the day!

    We did have a break for a luncheon buffet and program

    Randy Campbell, Chairman of the WTC Board of Directors, is the MC for our luncheon program

    Everyone is enjoying lunch, waiting for the presentations to start

    Linda Gardener from the PA Center for Trade Development, provides an overview of the State’s export program

    Terri Morrison, Author of “Kiss, Bow or Shake Hands” is our keynote luncheon speaker

    Audience “volunteers” help Terri demonstrate the concept of personal space in different cultures

    Luncheon participants listening to presentations

    One of our Sponsors:  UPS, with Diana Morales and Craig Feister at their booth, talking with Linda Gardener, from the State’s international office

    Another Sponsor booth:  MANTEC Inc. and Gary Egolf, Professional Business Advisor, at the booth

    Our event sponsor Fulton Bank’s Booth:  Chuck McGough, CEO of CAM Innovation talks with Amy Sahm, VP and Manager of Fulton’s International Services

    And more appointments in the afternoon: 

    WTC Offers One-on-one Consulting on Social Media Use to Members

    September 10, 2010

    More and more of our members are becoming active on social media sites with an increasing interest in engaging a global audience. For WTC members who are completely new to this concept, we have been offering a customized overview and one-on-one consulting – all as part of the WTC member benefits.  To check out the basic powerpoint presentation that Melissa uses, click here.

    WTC Members Tour the Port of Philadelphia

    August 27, 2010
    On August 25, WTC members had the opportunity to tour the Philadelphia seaport as well as the UPS cargo facilities at the Philadelphia International Airport.  After an early morning pick-up in York and then Lancaster, we traveled by bus to Philadelphia, arriving at the seaport a little after 10:00 am.   

    The Ports of the Delaware River shipped over 80 million tons of freight in 2009, making them one of America’s Top 10 Port Complexes. We saw the marine terminals that move containers, steel, forest products, fruit and cocoa. We also saw the giant cranes and container moving equipment, the portable x-ray machines used for scanning full containers and the facilities for keeping refrigerated and freezer containers. August was a busy month  at the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal, as it marked the arrival of 7 HYUNDAI/KIA vessels, who together delivered more than 17,000 Hyundai and Kia vehicles to the Port of Philadelphia.
    After a lunch at the Airport Hilton, we got an inside look at the East Coast Regional UPS air hub, which averages 43 flights every day. The 681,000 square foot technology‐packed facility has the capacity to sort 80,000 packages/ documents per hour.  We were very fortunate to have two UPS pilots join us for an inside tour and presentation, which included climbing into cargo airplanes and checking out the cockpit.
    Thanks again to Dominic O’Brien and the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority and Adam Say and UPS for hosting our group and providing a first hand look at cargo movement.  Thank you also to Stephanie Gehman from HIA for taking photos and sharing them with us.  We learned and saw a lot, and everyone enjoyed this opportunity immensely.

    PA Pavilion at ANUGA 2009

    November 14, 2009

    The PA Office of International Business Development partnered with the WTC to organize and staff a “Pennsylvania” booth at the world’s largest trade show for the food industry, ANUGA 2009.  The fair took place in Cologne from October 11-14.  The purpose of the booth at ANUGA was twofold, one to offer subsidized space for Pennsylvania companies to showcase their products to the world, and second to promote the Commonwealth and the southcentral PA region as a location for investment for food related companies.  Tina Weyant coordinated the exhibit and staffed the booth during the show.

    According to the trade show organizer’s final report, the 30th Anuga generated high-powered market momentum for the food industry in Germany and abroad. Against the background of a difficult overall economic situation, the market-oriented trade fair concept of Anuga once again impressed everyone involved. 149,349 trade visitors from 180 countries came to the fair, with 63 per cent (115,066) coming from abroad.  The number of exhibitors – 6,522 suppliers from 98 countries – remained unchanged at its previous high level.

    Two Pennsylvania companies exhibited their product lines in the PA booth:  Herr’s Foods and Lancaster Fine Foods.  Two other PA companies, Advanced Food Products and Snyders of Hanover also exhibited at ANUGA  – in the same Hall as the Pennsylvania booth. 

    The PA booth was part of the USA Pavilion, which attracted a lot of attention!

    In additional to promoting Pennsylvania at the ANUGA booth, Charles Blankenship, President of the Lebanon Valley Economic Development Corporation, traveled to ANUGA on behalf of the southcentral PA region, and directly promoted Pennsylvania to pre-qualified “investment” leads.  This list had been generated with the help of PA overseas investment offices.  Together, Tina and Charles called on 20 investment leads during the show and coordinated and presented 2 seminars to promote PA as an ideal investment location! 

    PackExpo 2009

    October 24, 2009
    The WTC, with help from First Energy, and with funding support from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development secured and organized the logistical details for a Pennsylvania Booth at the PackExpo Show in Las Vegas from October 5-7. 2009.  
    The tradeshow focused on the food packaging, processing and converting machinery industries.  Sixty-seven companies from PA exhibited at the show, including 13 from the Southcentral PA region. 

    WTC Members at the Pack/Process Expo included Elsner Engineering Works, Adhesives Research, and Westfalia Technologies.

    Melissa Stiles from the WTC, together with representatives from the York County Economic Development Corporation and the Berks County Economic Partnership, represented the southcentral Pennsylvania region and the Commonwealth at the PackExpo trade show.   In addition representatives from the Erie Regional Chamber and from the Northwest Commission participated in the Team Pennsylvania booth.   
    Melissa met with all 13 regional companies that were exhibiting at the show and the Pennsylvania team visited targeted companies at the show to promote investment in the southcentral region and the Commonwealth and fielded questions from various visitors to the booth. A total of 8 valid investment leads were collected.  A special “Thank You” also goes to Hershey Chocolate for sponsoring 125 lbs of Hershey Kisses, which were appreciated by everyone.
    Show statistics:

    Visitor Attendance:                22,721

    Exhibitor Personnel:                11,246

    Total Attendance:                   33,967

    International Attendance:         3,580

    Number of Exhibitors:              1,140