House of Representatives                     P.O. Box 40600

Office of Program Research            Olympia WA 98504-0600

Finance Committee                        Phone 360-786-7100

1

HB 1119

Bill Analysis

January 28, 1997

Brief Description:  The expiration date on private timber sale reporting is extended to July 1, 2000.

Staff:  Rick Peterson (786-7150)

Background:  Timber owners pay a 5 percent timber excise tax on the value of their timber when they cut it.  The tax is based on timber stumpage values.  Stumpage is the value of timber as it stands uncut in the woods.  The Department of Revenue is required by law to establish timber stumpage values semi-annually.  Until the early 1990's, the department used publicly-owned timber sales as comparable sales for computing stumpage values.  Since that time, the number of public sales has declined significantly.

Purchasers of more than 200,000 board feet of privately owned timber are required to report the details of the transaction to the Department of Revenue.  Purchasers of privately-owned timber who fail to report may be liable for a penalty of $250 for each failure to report.  The requirement to report details of timber purchases expires March 1, 1997

Summary of Bill:  The expiration date on private timber sale reporting is extended to July 1, 2000.

Fiscal Note:  Available

Effective  Date:  This bill contains an emergency clause and takes effect immediately.