H-2301.1  _______________________________________________

                    SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1813

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      55th Legislature     1997 Regular Session

By House Committee on Trade & Economic Development (originally sponsored by Representatives Dunn, Van Luven, Veloria, Alexander, Sheldon, Morris, Mason, McDonald, Honeyford and L. Thomas)

Read first time 02/28/97.

Regulating sales and use tax exemptions for motion picture and video production equipment and services.

    AN ACT Relating to sales and use tax exemptions for motion picture and video production equipment and production services; amending RCW 82.08.0315; and declaring an emergency.

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

    Sec. 1.  RCW 82.08.0315 and 1995 2nd sp.s. c 5 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

    (1) As used in this section:

    (a) "Production equipment" means the following when used in motion picture or video production or postproduction:  Grip and lighting equipment, cameras, camera mounts including tripods, jib arms, steadicams, and other camera mounts, cranes, dollies, generators, helicopter mounts, helicopters rented for motion picture or video production, walkie talkies, vans ((and)), trucks, and other vehicles specifically equipped for motion picture or video production or used solely for production activities, wardrobe and makeup trailers, special effects and stunt equipment, video assists, videotape recorders, cables and connectors, telepromoters, sound recording equipment, and editorial equipment.

    (b) "Production services" means motion picture and video processing, printing, editing, duplicating, animation, graphics, special effects, negative cutting, conversions to other formats or media, stock footage, sound mixing, rerecording, sound sweetening, sound looping, sound effects, and automatic dialog replacement.

    (c) "Motion picture or video production business" means a person engaged in the production of motion pictures and video tapes for exhibition, sale, or for broadcast by a person other than the person producing the motion picture or video tape.

    (2) The tax levied by RCW 82.08.020 does not apply to the rental of production equipment, or the sale of production services, to a motion picture or video production business.

    (3) The exemption provided for in this section shall not apply to rental of production equipment, or the sale of production services, to a motion picture or video production business that is engaged, to any degree, in the production of erotic material, as defined in RCW 9.68.050.

(4) In order to claim an exemption under this section, the purchaser must provide the seller with an exemption certificate in a form and manner prescribed by the department.  The seller shall retain a copy of the certificate for the seller's files.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately.

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