| Passed by the House March 6, 2006 Yeas 55 ________________________________________ Speaker of the House of Representatives Passed by the Senate March 8, 2006 Yeas 40 ________________________________________ President of the Senate | I, Richard Nafziger, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2880 as passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on the dates hereon set forth. ________________________________________ Chief Clerk | |
| Approved ________________________________________ Governor of the State of Washington | Secretary of State State of Washington |
| State of Washington | 59th Legislature | 2006 Regular Session |
READ FIRST TIME 01/30/06.
AN ACT Relating to insurance premiums tax; amending RCW 48.14.080; creating new sections; and declaring an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 The legislature finds that the insurance
premiums tax is intended to be in lieu of any other tax imposed on
insurers. However, insurers are not exempt from taxes on real and
tangible personal property, or excise taxes on the sale, purchase, or
use of such property. These provisions, enacted in 1949, have not been
reviewed or altered in light of significant expansion of sales and use
taxes to include taxation of many service activities. Some insurers
have interpreted their obligation to pay retail sales and use taxes to
be limited to those taxes imposed on the sale or use of tangible
personal property. These insurers claim exemption from retail sales
tax, use tax, or any other excise tax on the purchase or sale of
services, such as telephone service, credit bureau services,
construction services, landscape services, and repair services. Other
insurers have consistently paid excise taxes imposed on these services.
The legislature further finds exempting insurers from excise taxes
on the purchase or sale of services is inequitable and results from the
inadvertent failure to revise insurance premiums tax statutes to be
consistent with other excise tax statutes. The legislature declares
its intent to require insurers to pay retail sales and use taxes on
purchases of both tangible personal property or services, on the same
terms as other taxpayers. This act is intended to apply both
prospectively and retrospectively.
Sec. 2 RCW 48.14.080 and 1998 c 312 s 1 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1) As to insurers, other than title insurers and taxpayers under
RCW 48.14.0201, the taxes imposed by this title shall be in lieu of all
other taxes, except as otherwise provided in this section.
(2) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply with respect to:
(a) Taxes on real and tangible personal property((,));
(b) Excise taxes on the sale, purchase ((or)), use, or possession
of ((such)) (i) real property; (ii) tangible personal property((,));
(iii) extended warranties; and (iv) services; and
(c) The tax imposed in RCW 82.04.260(((12))) (10), regarding public
and nonprofit hospitals.
(3) For the purposes of this section, the term "taxes" includes
taxes imposed by the state or any county, city, town, municipal
corporation, quasi-municipal corporation, or other political
subdivision.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3 This act applies both prospectively and
retroactively.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4 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.