S-3812.1  _______________________________________________

                         SENATE BILL 6708

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington   57th Legislature        2002 Regular Session

By Senator Sheahan

Read first time 01/28/2002.  Referred to Committee on Ways & Means.

Exempting rural counties and cities from department of revenue sales and use tax collection and administration fees.

    AN ACT Relating to exempting rural counties and cities from payment of fees to the department of revenue for administering and collecting sales and use taxes; amending RCW 82.14.050; and providing an effective date.

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

    Sec. 1.  RCW 82.14.050 and 1999 c 165 s 14 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The counties, cities, and transportation authorities under RCW 82.14.045 and public facilities districts under chapter 36.100 and 35.57 RCW shall contract, prior to the effective date of a resolution or ordinance imposing a sales and use tax, the administration and collection to the state department of revenue, which shall deduct a percentage amount, as provided by contract, not to exceed two percent of the taxes collected for administration and collection expenses incurred by the department.  No amount may be deducted for taxes collected on behalf of rural counties or the cities therein.  The remainder of any portion of any tax authorized by this chapter which is collected by the department of revenue shall be deposited by the state department of revenue in the local sales and use tax account hereby created in the state treasury.  Moneys in the local sales and use tax account may be spent only for distribution to counties, cities, transportation authorities, and public facilities districts imposing a sales and use tax.  All administrative provisions in chapters 82.03, 82.08, 82.12, and 82.32 RCW, as they now exist or may hereafter be amended, shall, insofar as they are applicable to state sales and use taxes, be applicable to taxes imposed pursuant to this chapter.  Except as provided in RCW 43.08.190, all earnings of investments of balances in the local sales and use tax account shall be credited to the local sales and use tax account and distributed to the counties, cities, transportation authorities, and public facilities districts monthly.

(2) As used in this section, "rural county" means a county with a population density of less than one hundred persons per square mile, as determined by the office of financial management and published each year by the department for the period July 1st to June 30th.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  This act takes effect July 1, 2002, and shall apply to collections made after July 1, 2002.

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