AN ACT Relating to the tax treatment of canned and custom software; amending RCW 82.04.050, 82.04.060, and 82.12.020; reenacting and amending RCW 82.04.190; adding new sections to chapter 82.04 RCW; creating a new section; and providing an effective date.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that the creation and customization of software is an area not fully addressed in our excise tax statutes, and that certainty of tax treatment is essential to the industry and consumers. Therefore, the intent of this act is to make the tax treatment of software clear and certain for developers, programmers, and consumers.

Sec. 2. RCW 82.04.050 and 1997 c 127 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) "Sale at retail" or "retail sale" means every sale of tangible personal property (including articles produced, fabricated, or imprinted) to all persons irrespective of the nature of their business and including, among others, without limiting the scope hereof, persons who install, repair, clean, alter, improve, construct, or decorate real or personal property of or for consumers other than a sale to a person who presents a resale certificate under RCW 82.04.470 and who:

(a) Purchases for the purpose of resale as tangible personal property in the regular course of business without intervening use by such person; or

(b) Installs, repairs, cleans, alters, imprints, improves, constructs, or decorates real or personal property of or for consumers, if such tangible personal property becomes an ingredient or component of such real or personal property without intervening use by such person; or

(c) Purchases for the purpose of consuming the property purchased in producing for sale a new article of tangible personal property or substance, of which such property becomes an ingredient or component or is a chemical used in processing, when the primary purpose of such chemical is to create a chemical reaction directly through contact with an ingredient of a new article being produced for sale; or

(d) Purchases for the purpose of consuming the property purchased in producing ferrosilicon which is subsequently used in producing magnesium for sale, if the primary purpose of such property is to create a chemical reaction directly through contact with an ingredient of ferrosilicon; or

(e) Purchases for the purpose of providing the property to consumers as part of competitive telephone service, as defined in RCW 82.04.065. The term shall include every sale of tangible personal property which is used or consumed or to be used or consumed in the performance of any activity classified as a "sale at retail" or "retail sale" even though such property is resold or utilized as provided in (a), (b), (c), (d), or (e) of this subsection following such use. The term also means every sale of tangible personal property to persons engaged in any business which is taxable under RCW 82.04.280 (2) and (7) and 82.04.290.

(2) The term "sale at retail" or "retail sale" shall include the sale of or charge made for tangible personal property consumed and/or for labor and services rendered in respect to the following:

(a) The installing, repairing, cleaning, altering, imprinting, or improving of tangible personal property of or for consumers, including charges made for the mere use of facilities in respect thereto, but excluding sales of laundry service to members by nonprofit associations composed exclusively of nonprofit hospitals, and excluding services rendered in respect to live animals, birds and insects;

(b) The constructing, repairing, decorating, or improving of new or existing buildings or other structures under, upon, or above real property of or for consumers, including the installing or attaching of any article of tangible personal property therein or thereto, whether or not such personal property becomes a part of the realty by virtue of installation, and shall also include the sale of services or charges made for the clearing of land and the moving of earth excepting the mere leveling of land used in commercial farming or agriculture;

(c) The charge for labor and services rendered in respect to constructing, repairing, or improving any structure upon, above, or under any real property owned by an owner who conveys the property by title, possession, or any other means to the person performing such construction, repair, or improvement for the purpose of performing such construction, repair, or improvement and the property is then reconveyed by title, possession, or any other means to the original owner;

(d) The sale of or charge made for labor and services rendered in respect to the cleaning, fumigating, razing or moving of existing buildings or structures, but shall not include the charge made for janitorial services; and for purposes of this section the term "janitorial services" shall mean those cleaning and caretaking services ordinarily performed by commercial janitor service businesses including, but not limited to, wall and window washing, floor cleaning and waxing, and the cleaning in place of rugs, drapes and upholstery. The term "janitorial services" does not include painting, papering, repairing, furnace or septic tank cleaning, snow removal or sandblasting;

(e) The sale of or charge made for labor and services rendered in respect to automobile towing and similar automotive transportation services, but not in respect to those required to report and pay taxes under chapter 82.16 RCW;

(f) The sale of and charge made for the furnishing of lodging and all other services by a hotel, rooming house, tourist court, motel, trailer camp, and the granting of any similar license to use real property, as distinguished from the renting or leasing of real property, and it shall be presumed that the occupancy of real property for a continuous period of one month or more constitutes a rental or lease of real property and not a mere license to use or enjoy the same;

(g) The sale of or charge made for tangible personal property, labor and services to persons taxable under (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), and (f) of this subsection when such sales or charges are for property, labor and services which are used or consumed in whole or in part by such persons in the performance of any activity defined as a "sale at retail" or "retail sale" even though such property, labor and services may be resold after such use or consumption. Nothing contained in this subsection shall be construed to modify subsection (1) of this section and nothing contained in subsection (1) of this section shall be construed to modify this subsection.

(3) The term "sale at retail" or "retail sale" shall include the sale of or charge made for personal, business, or professional services including amounts designated as interest, rents, fees, admission, and other service emoluments however designated, received by persons engaging in the following business activities:

(a) Amusement and recreation services including but not limited to golf, pool, billiards, skating, bowling, ski lifts and tows, day trips for sightseeing purposes, and others, when provided to consumers;

(b) Abstract, title insurance, and escrow services;

(d) Automobile parking and storage garage services;

(e) Landscape maintenance and horticultural services but excluding (i) horticultural services provided to farmers and (ii) pruning, trimming, repairing, removing, and clearing of trees and brush near electric transmission or distribution lines or equipment, if performed by or at the direction of an electric utility;

(f) Service charges associated with tickets to professional sporting events; and

(g) The following personal services: Physical fitness services, tanning salon services, tattoo parlor services, steam bath services, turkish bath services, escort services, and dating services.

(4) The term shall also include the renting or leasing of tangible personal property to consumers and the rental of equipment with an operator.

(5) The term shall also include the providing of telephone service, as defined in RCW 82.04.065, to consumers.

(6) The term shall also include the sale of canned software other than a sale to a person who presents a resale certificate under RCW 82.04.470, regardless of the method of delivery to the end user, but shall not include custom software or the customization of canned software.

(7) The term shall not include the sale of or charge made for labor and services rendered in respect to the building, repairing, or improving of any street, place, road, highway, easement, right of way, mass public transportation terminal or parking facility, bridge, tunnel, or trestle which is owned by a municipal corporation or political subdivision of the state or by the United States and which is used or to be used primarily for foot or vehicular traffic including mass transportation vehicles of any kind.

((~~(7)~~)) (8) The term shall also not include sales of chemical sprays or washes to persons for the purpose of postharvest treatment of fruit for the prevention of scald, fungus, mold, or decay, nor shall it include sales of feed, seed, seedlings, fertilizer, agents for enhanced pollination including insects such as bees, and spray materials to: (a) Persons who participate in the federal conservation reserve program, the environmental quality incentives program, the wetlands reserve program, and the wildlife habitat incentives program, or their successors administered by the United States department of agriculture; (b) farmers for the purpose of producing for sale any agricultural product; and (c) farmers acting under cooperative habitat development or access contracts with an organization exempt from federal income tax under 26 U.S.C. Sec. 501(c)(3) or the Washington state department of fish and wildlife to produce or improve wildlife habitat on land that the farmer owns or leases.

((~~(8)~~)) (9) The term shall not include the sale of or charge made for labor and services rendered in respect to the constructing, repairing, decorating, or improving of new or existing buildings or other structures under, upon, or above real property of or for the United States, any instrumentality thereof, or a county or city housing authority created pursuant to chapter 35.82 RCW, including the installing, or attaching of any article of tangible personal property therein or thereto, whether or not such personal property becomes a part of the realty by virtue of installation. Nor shall the term include the sale of services or charges made for the clearing of land and the moving of earth of or for the United States, any instrumentality thereof, or a county or city housing authority. Nor shall the term include the sale of services or charges made for cleaning up for the United States, or its instrumentalities, radioactive waste and other byproducts of weapons production and nuclear research and development.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 82.04 RCW, to be codified between RCW 82.04.020 and 82.04.220, to read as follows:

(1) "Canned software" means software that is created for sale to more than one person.

(2) "Custom software" means software created for a single person.

(3) "Customization of canned software" means any alteration, modification, or development of applications using or incorporating canned computer software for a specific person. "Customization of canned software" includes individualized configuration of software to work with other software and computer hardware but does not include routine installation. Customization of canned software does not change the underlying character or taxability of the original canned software.

(4) "Master copies" of software means copies of software from which a software developer, author, inventor, publisher, licensor, sublicensor, or distributor makes copies for sale or license.

(5) "Retained rights" means any and all rights, including intellectual property rights such as those rights arising from copyrights, patents, and trade secret laws, that are owned or are held under contract or license by a software developer, author, inventor, publisher, licensor, sublicensor, or distributor.

(6) "Software" means any information, program, or routine, or any set of one or more programs, routines, or collections of information used, or intended for use, to convey information that causes one or more computers or pieces of computer-related peripheral equipment, or any combination thereof, to perform a task or set of tasks. "Software" includes only those copies of such information, programs, or routines intended for use by an end user and specifically excludes retained rights in software and master copies of software. "Software" includes the associated documentation that describes the code and its use, operation, and maintenance and typically is delivered with the code to the consumer. All software is classified as either canned or custom.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 82.04 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The creation and distribution of custom software is a service taxable under RCW 82.04.290(2). Duplication of the software for the same person, or by the same person for its own use, does not change the character of the software.

(2) The customization of canned software is a service taxable under RCW 82.04.290(2).

Sec. 5. RCW 82.04.060 and 1996 c 148 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

"Sale at wholesale" or "wholesale sale" means: (1) Any sale of tangible personal property((,)); (2) any sale of amusement or recreation services as defined in RCW 82.04.050(3)(a)((,)); (3) any sale of canned software; or (4) any sale of telephone service as defined in RCW 82.04.065, which is not a sale at retail and means any charge made for labor and services rendered for persons who are not consumers, in respect to real or personal property, if such charge is expressly defined as a retail sale by RCW 82.04.050 when rendered to or for consumers: PROVIDED, That the term "real or personal property" as used in this section shall not include any natural products named in RCW 82.04.100.

Sec. 6. RCW 82.04.190 and 1996 c 173 s 2, 1996 c 148 s 4, and 1996 c 112 s 2 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:

"Consumer" means the following:

(1) Any person who purchases, acquires, owns, holds, or uses any article of tangible personal property irrespective of the nature of the person's business and including, among others, without limiting the scope hereof, persons who install, repair, clean, alter, improve, construct, or decorate real or personal property of or for consumers other than for the purpose (a) of resale as tangible personal property in the regular course of business or (b) of incorporating such property as an ingredient or component of real or personal property when installing, repairing, cleaning, altering, imprinting, improving, constructing, or decorating such real or personal property of or for consumers or (c) of consuming such property in producing for sale a new article of tangible personal property or a new substance, of which such property becomes an ingredient or component or as a chemical used in processing, when the primary purpose of such chemical is to create a chemical reaction directly through contact with an ingredient of a new article being produced for sale or (d) purchases for the purpose of consuming the property purchased in producing ferrosilicon which is subsequently used in producing magnesium for sale, if the primary purpose of such property is to create a chemical reaction directly through contact with an ingredient of ferrosilicon;

(2)(a) Any person engaged in any business activity taxable under RCW 82.04.290; (b) any person who purchases, acquires, or uses any telephone service as defined in RCW 82.04.065, other than for resale in the regular course of business; ((~~and~~)) (c) any person who purchases, acquires, or uses any amusement and recreation service defined in RCW 82.04.050(3)(a), other than for resale in the regular course of business; and (d) any person who is an end user of software;

(3) Any person engaged in the business of contracting for the building, repairing or improving of any street, place, road, highway, easement, right of way, mass public transportation terminal or parking facility, bridge, tunnel, or trestle which is owned by a municipal corporation or political subdivision of the state of Washington or by the United States and which is used or to be used primarily for foot or vehicular traffic including mass transportation vehicles of any kind as defined in RCW 82.04.280, in respect to tangible personal property when such person incorporates such property as an ingredient or component of such publicly owned street, place, road, highway, easement, right of way, mass public transportation terminal or parking facility, bridge, tunnel, or trestle by installing, placing or spreading the property in or upon the right of way of such street, place, road, highway, easement, bridge, tunnel, or trestle or in or upon the site of such mass public transportation terminal or parking facility;

(4) Any person who is an owner, lessee or has the right of possession to or an easement in real property which is being constructed, repaired, decorated, improved, or otherwise altered by a person engaged in business, excluding only (a) municipal corporations or political subdivisions of the state in respect to labor and services rendered to their real property which is used or held for public road purposes, and (b) the United States, instrumentalities thereof, and county and city housing authorities created pursuant to chapter 35.82 RCW in respect to labor and services rendered to their real property. Nothing contained in this or any other subsection of this definition shall be construed to modify any other definition of "consumer";

(5) Any person who is an owner, lessee, or has the right of possession to personal property which is being constructed, repaired, improved, cleaned, imprinted, or otherwise altered by a person engaged in business;

(6) Any person engaged in the business of constructing, repairing, decorating, or improving new or existing buildings or other structures under, upon, or above real property of or for the United States, any instrumentality thereof, or a county or city housing authority created pursuant to chapter 35.82 RCW, including the installing or attaching of any article of tangible personal property therein or thereto, whether or not such personal property becomes a part of the realty by virtue of installation; also, any person engaged in the business of clearing land and moving earth of or for the United States, any instrumentality thereof, or a county or city housing authority created pursuant to chapter 35.82 RCW. Any such person shall be a consumer within the meaning of this subsection in respect to tangible personal property incorporated into, installed in, or attached to such building or other structure by such person;

(7) Any person who is a lessor of machinery and equipment, the rental of which is exempt from the tax imposed by RCW 82.08.020 under RCW 82.08.02565, with respect to the sale of or charge made for tangible personal property consumed in respect to repairing the machinery and equipment, if the tangible personal property has a useful life of less than one year; and

(8) Any person engaged in the business of cleaning up for the United States, or its instrumentalities, radioactive waste and other byproducts of weapons production and nuclear research and development.

Nothing contained in this or any other subsection of this definition shall be construed to modify any other definition of "consumer."

Sec. 7. RCW 82.12.020 and 1996 c 148 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) There is hereby levied and there shall be collected from every person in this state a tax or excise for the privilege of using within this state as a consumer: (a) Any article of tangible personal property purchased at retail, or acquired by lease, gift, repossession, or bailment, or extracted or produced or manufactured by the person so using the same, or otherwise furnished to a person engaged in any business taxable under RCW 82.04.280 (2) or (7)((,)); (b) any canned software, regardless of the method of delivery, but excluding canned software that is either provided free of charge or is provided for temporary use in viewing information, or both; or (c) any amusement or recreation service defined as a retail sale in RCW 82.04.050(3)(a).

(2) This tax shall apply to the use of every service defined as a retail sale in RCW 82.04.050(3)(a) and the use of every article of tangible personal property, including property acquired at a casual or isolated sale, and including byproducts used by the manufacturer thereof, except as hereinafter provided, irrespective of whether the article or similar articles are manufactured or are available for purchase within this state.

(3) Except as provided in RCW 82.12.0252, payment by one purchaser or user of tangible personal property or service of the tax imposed by chapter 82.08 or 82.12 RCW shall not have the effect of exempting any other purchaser or user of the same property or service from the taxes imposed by such chapters.

(4) The tax shall be levied and collected in an amount equal to the value of the article used by the taxpayer multiplied by the rate in effect for the retail sales tax under RCW 82.08.020.

*NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. A new section is added to chapter 82.04 RCW to read as follows:

(1) A credit is authorized against the tax otherwise due under this chapter for persons engaged in the business of the creation, distribution, wholesaling, or warehousing of canned or custom software in accordance with the terms of this section.

(2) To qualify for the credit, the principal place of business of the person must be located in a distressed county.

(3) For taxes payable on income received in the first thirty-six months in which the person is engaged in business in the distressed county, the amount of the credit shall be equal to one hundred percent of the amount of tax otherwise due under this chapter. For taxes payable on income received after the first thirty-six months in which the person is engaged in business in the distressed county, the amount of the credit shall equal ninety percent of the amount of tax otherwise due under this chapter for persons engaged in the business of the creation or distribution of canned or custom software and in the amount of seventy percent of the amount of tax otherwise due under this chapter for persons engaged in the business of the wholesaling or warehousing of canned or custom software.

(4) This section does not apply to the retail distribution or sale of canned or custom software.

(5) As used in this section, "distressed county" means any county in which the average level of unemployment for the previous three years exceeds the average state unemployment for those years by twenty percent.

*Sec. 8 was vetoed. See message at end of chapter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. This act takes effect July 1, 1998.