March Marketing Roundtable Focus: Social Media

Posted by Tina

Our March marketing roundtable featured Stephanie Gehman from Harrisburg International Airport, Matt Brommer from Turkey Hill Dairy, Jennifer Peterson from Wavelength Marketing, and Susie Christensen from the PA Australia Trade Office as panelists.  Each shared how their business is using social media to promote their brand as part of their marketing strategy.  Susie also spoke on the use of social media in Australia, mainly stating that facebook and twitter were the primary outlets used.   Approximately 25 people participated in this information sharing session.  Many “how-to’s” were exchanged along with ideas to improve social media strategies.  Topics that were discussed ranged from the new facebook application format to use of social media at trade shows to using social media to compliment a sales strategies.   Special thanks to our panelists for participating and HIA for hosting the roundtable!  

"Enjoy the World" Dining Series Kicked Off at the Bangkok Wok

Posted by Tina


The World Affairs Council of Harrisburg and the World Trade Center of Central Pennsylvania teamed up for an "Enjoy the World" dining event at the Bangkok Wok  on January 28.   Bangkok Wok’s owner Chuck Martz selected a special dinner combination for our guests’ enjoyment and he shared details about Thai cuisine and even arranged for traditionally dressed Thai dancer to make an appearance!  It was a most enjoyable evening and everyone had a great time.

A WTC Passport???

Posted by Tina

Yes, there is a WTC issued "passport"... and you too can have one by simply contacting us and asking for one.   Then you can join in the fun and start collecting "stamps" for your passport for the chance to win prizes at our year end 20th Anniversary Birthday Bash.

Here are examples of what you can do to earn stamps for your WTC passport:

• Attend a WTC event
• Be a WTC member
• Engage with WTC via social media
• Answer trade trivia on twitter
• Visit a sister WTC
• Share your experience/knowledge
• Host a WTC event
• Share a member spotlight or success story
• Refer a company to the WTC
• Bring guests to WTC events
• Contribute to the WTC newsletter, website or blog

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

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.