H-0251.4          _______________________________________________

                                  HOUSE BILL 1867

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State of Washington              52nd Legislature             1991 Regular Session

By Representatives R. King, Bowman, Day, Wilson, Dellwo, Paris and Wood.

Read first time February 13, 1991.  Referred to Committee on Commerce & Labor.Changing taxation of gambling activities.

     AN ACT Relating to gambling taxes; and amending RCW 9.46.110.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

     Sec. 1.  RCW 9.46.110 and 1987 c 4 s 39 are each amended to read as follows:

     The legislative authority of any county, city‑county, city, or town, by local law and ordinance, and in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and rules and regulations promulgated hereunder, may provide for the taxing of any gambling activity authorized by this chapter within its jurisdiction, the tax receipts to go to the county, city‑county, city, or town so taxing the same: PROVIDED, That any such tax imposed by a county alone shall not apply to any gambling activity within a city or town located therein but the tax rate established by a county, if any, shall constitute the tax rate throughout the unincorporated areas of such county:  PROVIDED FURTHER, That (1) punch boards and pull‑tabs, chances on which shall only be sold to adults, which shall have a fifty cent limit on a single chance thereon, shall be taxed on a basis which shall reflect only the gross receipts from such punch boards and pull‑tabs; and (2) no punch board or pull‑tab may award as a prize upon a winning number or symbol being drawn the opportunity of taking a chance upon any other punch board or pull‑tab; and (3) all prizes for punch boards and pull‑tabs must be on display within the immediate area of the premises wherein any such punch board or pull‑tab is located and upon a winning number or symbol being drawn, such prize must be immediately removed therefrom, or such omission shall be deemed a fraud for the purposes of this chapter; and (4) when any person shall win over twenty dollars in money or merchandise from any punch board or pull‑tab, every licensee hereunder shall keep a public record thereof for at least ninety days thereafter containing such information as the commission shall deem necessary:  AND PROVIDED FURTHER, That taxation of bingo and raffles shall never be in an amount greater than ten percent of the gross revenue received therefrom less the amount paid for or as prizes.  Taxation of amusement games shall only be in an amount sufficient to pay the actual costs of enforcement of the provisions of this chapter by the county, city or town law enforcement agency and in no event shall such taxation exceed two percent of the gross revenue therefrom less the amount paid for as prizes:  PROVIDED FURTHER, That no tax shall be imposed under the authority of this chapter on bingo, raffles or amusement games when such activities or any combination thereof are conducted by any bona fide charitable or nonprofit organization as defined in this chapter, which organization has no paid operating or management personnel and has gross income from bingo, raffles or amusement games, or any combination thereof, not exceeding five thousand dollars per year less the amount paid for as prizes.  Taxation of punch boards and pull‑tabs shall not exceed five percent of gross receipts, nor shall taxation of social card games exceed ((twenty)) ten percent of the gross revenue from such games.