Under the new tax stipulations, Washington state has pledged to redistribute the $370 million it makes from the new tax hike by 2021. That redistribution will be focused on a new Workforce Education Investment Account to help produce financial help for students in computer science fields.
Betting on Education
In other words, Microsoft is betting on exchanging extra tax dollars for a pick of the best computer science students from a growth in related jobs. This is certainly not a far-fetched aspiration. The Bureau of Labor estimates 1.4 million computer science jobs will be developed over the coming 18 months. However, there is a graduate gap, with only 400,000 with the required skills for the jobs. A Microsoft spokesperson provided the following statement to Geekwire after the passing of the bill: “Education beyond high school has long been an onramp to success in Washington state and our nation, and a priority for Microsoft. We’re proud to have supported HB 2158 because it will help recession-proof higher education in our state and expand access, especially for those from low and middle income families, to the broad range of postsecondary education opportunities that kids in our state will need to succeed in the future.” –Irene Plenefisch, Microsoft Government Affairs Director, Washington state.
