Comment by cadamsdotcom

While your response is valid, the specific circumstances warrant closer consideration and potentially reconsideration.

One problem with the change being appealed is software engineers have become more expensive to carry and that has contributed to layoffs. Unfortunately there appears no logical reason software activities are taxed differently than other things you might hire a skilled worker for. When one goes looking for a logical and direct motivation for the change it’s tough to find. This special tax treatment is a one-off, and engineers earn high salaries - so is it possible this change was to fund some other tax cut? The optics aren’t good, at least.

Finally and more importantly, this change impacts risky ventures & startups most of all since larger tax bills may be incurred even on failed ventures. When you look where economic growth is coming from, the lion’s share is in tech. Higher costs and layoffs discourage experimentation and discourage the development of a broad range of capability in an organization by way of carrying large teams of engineers. It thus jeopardizes the current most promising sector in the US economy. Yes, tech is also having an “are we the baddies” moment - but layoffs and higher costs for startups are a separate issue that dominates here.

If you want even further proof just look at how this is activating the HN community. Comments are through the roof. This issue warrants more than a default response.