Stakeholders React to SaaS Bill Signing
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowKey tech industry players are weighing in on Governor Eric Holcomb’s signing of a bill that exempts software as a service from Indiana sales tax. Holcomb says the issue is something that was brought up "again and again" in meetings with Hoosier tech executives. Indiana is now one of four states to have approved this type of law. The ceremonial signing took place Friday morning at the headquarters of Indianapolis-based SaaS company, DemandJump.
Holcomb calls the exemption "critically important" for Hoosier businesses. "Tomorrow is too late" to get this on the books in Indiana, Holcomb said, adding "it is so encouraging to be a leader in this space — to have emerged so quickly — and it’s because of the folks in this room and scattered all over our state and some of our flagship universities and in the very companies that are sprouting up from one or two employees to doubling year after year after year. And that convergence is such an exciting place to be when you can turn that change and uncertainty into your friend."
Greenlight Guru Chief Executive Officer David DeRam says the signing of Senate Bill 257 is "an important step forward for the state of Indiana. As software and technology become even larger parts of the American economy, it is vital that Indiana SaaS companies seize every competitive advantage available. By eliminating the sales tax previously applied to Greenlight Guru pricing models, we will be able to immediately reduce the total cost of use, making Greenlight Guru more competitive. I applaud the Indiana General Assembly and Governor Holcomb’s foresight to position Indiana as an even more obvious choice for launching and scaling a SaaS company."
Indiana Chamber of Commerce Vice President of Taxation and Public Finance Bill Waltz says "this policy is important not just for tech companies, but for those who do business with them. The new law is straightforward on what transactions are exempt. Having clarity around that will help grow Indiana’s software development economy, as well as prevent onerous taxation of other necessary business expenses throughout the business community. The state is now in a very favorable position to reap very real economic benefits and attract more and more of the software-as-a-service industry."
On Twitter, TechPoint, the state’s tech growth initiative, said this exemption "puts our companies on a competitive landscape with many other states who also chose to eliminate sales tax on SaaS purchases."