BILL REQ. #:  H-3941.1 

Read first time 01/19/2004.   Referred to Committee on Finance.

     AN ACT Relating to providing excise tax credits for compliance with regulatory requirements; and adding a new section to chapter 82.04 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 82.04 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) A taxpayer may claim a credit against the tax imposed by this chapter equal to costs the taxpayer incurred, including accounting costs, because of regulatory requirements in the reporting period.
     (2) For purposes of this section, "regulatory requirements" means:
     (a) Reporting requirements imposed by statute or a state agency;
     (b) Inspections performed by a state agency;
     (c) Technical assistance visits performed by a state agency under chapter 43.05 RCW; and
     (d) Actions a state agency requires a taxpayer to take in order to avoid a civil penalty after an inspection or a technical assistance visit.
     (3) Application for credits under this section must be made to the department of revenue in a form and manner as required by the department. A credit must be claimed in the year in which the expenditure is made.
     (4) Credits may not exceed the greater of two thousand dollars or five percent of the amount of tax that would otherwise be due under this chapter for a reporting period, and in no event may the credits exceed the amount of tax that would otherwise be due under this chapter for a reporting period. Unused credits may be carried forward and used in future reporting periods.