BILL REQ. #:  H-3977.1 

Read first time 01/21/2004.   Referred to Committee on Finance.

     AN ACT Relating to taxation of products from vending machines; and amending RCW 82.08.0293 and 82.08.080.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 82.08.0293 and 2003 c 168 s 301 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The tax levied by RCW 82.08.020 shall not apply to sales of food and food ingredients. "Food and food ingredients" means substances, whether in liquid, concentrated, solid, frozen, dried, or dehydrated form, that are sold for ingestion or chewing by humans and are consumed for their taste or nutritional value. "Food and food ingredients" does not include:
     (a) "Alcoholic beverages," which means beverages that are suitable for human consumption and contain one-half of one percent or more of alcohol by volume; and
     (b) "Tobacco," which means cigarettes, cigars, chewing or pipe tobacco, or any other item that contains tobacco.
     (2) The exemption of "food and food ingredients" provided for in subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to prepared food, soft drinks, or dietary supplements.
     (a) "Prepared food" means:
     (i) Food sold in a heated state or heated by the seller;
     (ii) Two or more food ingredients mixed or combined by the seller for sale as a single item; or
     (iii) Food sold with eating utensils provided by the seller, including plates, knives, forks, spoons, glasses, cups, napkins, or straws. A plate does not include a container or packaging used to transport the food.
     "Prepared food" in (a)(ii) of this subsection, does not include food that is only cut, repackaged, or pasteurized by the seller and raw eggs, fish, meat, poultry, and foods containing these raw animal foods requiring cooking by the consumer as recommended by the federal food and drug administration in chapter 3, part 401.11 of The Food Code, published by the food and drug administration, as amended or renumbered as of January 1, 2003, so as to prevent foodborne illness; or bakery items, including bread, rolls, buns, biscuits, bagels, croissants, pastries, donuts, danish, cakes, tortes, pies, tarts, muffins, bars, cookies, or tortillas.
     (b) "Soft drinks" means nonalcoholic beverages that contain natural or artificial sweeteners. Soft drinks do not include beverages that contain: Milk or milk products; soy, rice, or similar milk substitutes; or greater than fifty percent of vegetable or fruit juice by volume.
     (c) "Dietary supplement" means any product, other than tobacco, intended to supplement the diet that:
     (i) Contains one or more of the following dietary ingredients: A vitamin; a mineral; an herb or other botanical; an amino acid; a dietary substance for use by humans to supplement the diet by increasing the total dietary intake; or a concentrate, metabolite, constituent, extract, or combination of any ingredient described in this subsection; and is intended for ingestion in tablet, capsule, powder, softgel, gelcap, or liquid form, or if not intended for ingestion in such form, is not represented as conventional food and is not represented for use as a sole item of a meal or of the diet; and
     (ii) Is required to be labeled as a dietary supplement, identifiable by the "supplement facts" box found on the label as required pursuant to 21 C.F.R. Sec. 101.36, as amended or renumbered as of January 1, 2003.
     (3) Notwithstanding anything in this section to the contrary, the exemption of "food and food ingredients" provided in this section shall apply to food and food ingredients which are furnished, prepared, or served as meals:
     (a) Under a state administered nutrition program for the aged as provided for in the Older Americans Act (P.L. 95-478 Title III) and RCW 74.38.040(6); or
     (b) Which are provided to senior citizens, disabled persons, or low-income persons by a not-for-profit organization organized under chapter 24.03 or 24.12 RCW.
     (4)(a) Subsection (1) of this section notwithstanding, the retail sale of food and food ingredients is subject to sales tax under RCW 82.08.020 if the food and food ingredients are sold through a vending machine, and in this case the selling price and tax thereon for purposes of RCW 82.08.020 is fifty-seven percent of the gross receipts.
     (b) This subsection (4) does not apply to hot prepared food and food ingredients, other than food and food ingredients which are heated after they have been dispensed from the vending machine.
     (c) For tax collected under this subsection (4), the requirements that the tax be collected from the buyer and that the amount of tax be stated as a separate item are waived.

Sec. 2   RCW 82.08.080 and 1986 c 36 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The department of revenue may authorize a seller to pay the tax levied under this chapter upon sales made under conditions of business such as to render impracticable the collection of the tax as a separate item and waive collection of the tax from the customer. Where sales are made by ((receipt of a coin or coins dropped into a receptacle)) a vending machine that results in delivery of the merchandise in single purchases of smaller value than the minimum sale upon which a one cent tax may be collected from the purchaser, according to the schedule provided by the department under authority of RCW 82.08.060, and where the design of the sales device is such that multiple sales of items are not possible or cannot be detected so as practically to assess a tax, in such a case the selling price for the purposes of the tax imposed under RCW 82.08.020 shall be sixty percent of the gross receipts of the vending machine through which such sales are made.
     (2) No such authority shall be granted except upon application to the department and unless the department, after hearing, finds that the conditions of the applicant's business are such as to render impracticable the collection of the tax in the manner otherwise provided. The department, by ((regulation)) rule, may provide that the applicant, under this section, furnish a proper bond sufficient to secure the payment of the tax.
     (3) "Vending machine" means a machine or other mechanical device that accepts payment and:
     (a) Dispenses tangible personal property;
     (b) Provides facilities for installing, repairing, cleaning, altering, imprinting, or improving tangible personal property; or
     (c) Provides a service to the buyer.