BILL REQ. #:  S-1540.2 

READ FIRST TIME 02/25/05.   

     AN ACT Relating to excise taxation of certain cosmetic medical services; amending RCW 82.08.020; reenacting and amending RCW 82.04.050; and adding a new section to chapter 82.04 RCW.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 82.04.050 and 2004 c 174 s 3 and 2004 c 153 s 407 are each reenacted and 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, but a purchase for the purpose of resale by a regional transit authority under RCW 81.112.300 is not a sale for resale; 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), 82.04.290, and 82.04.2908.
     (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 charges made for the use of coin-operated laundry facilities when such facilities are situated in an apartment house, rooming house, or mobile home park for the exclusive use of the tenants thereof, and also excluding sales of laundry service to nonprofit health care facilities, 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. For the purposes of this subsection, it shall be presumed that the sale of and charge made for the furnishing of lodging for a continuous period of one month or more to a person is a rental or lease of real property and not a mere license to 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;
     (c) Credit bureau 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; and
     (h) Cosmetic medical services, including services directly related to the performance of cosmetic medical services.
     (4)(a) The term shall also include:
     (i) The renting or leasing of tangible personal property to consumers; and
     (ii) Providing tangible personal property along with an operator for a fixed or indeterminate period of time. A consideration of this is that the operator is necessary for the tangible personal property to perform as designed. For the purpose of this subsection (4)(a)(ii), an operator must do more than maintain, inspect, or set up the tangible personal property.
     (b) The term shall not include the renting or leasing of tangible personal property where the lease or rental is for the purpose of sublease or subrent.
     (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 prewritten computer 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 prewritten computer 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.
     (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.
     (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.

Sec. 2   RCW 82.08.020 and 2003 c 361 s 301 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) There is levied and there shall be collected a tax on each retail sale in this state equal to six and five-tenths percent of the selling price.
     (2) There is levied and there shall be collected an additional tax on each retail car rental, regardless of whether the vehicle is licensed in this state, equal to five and nine-tenths percent of the selling price. The revenue collected under this subsection shall be deposited in the multimodal transportation account created in RCW 47.66.070.
     (3) The tax collected under this section on each retail sale of cosmetic medical services, as defined in section 3 of this act, shall be deposited into the health services account in RCW 43.72.900 to be used for children's health care services.
     (4) Beginning July 1, 2003, there is levied and collected an additional tax of three-tenths of one percent of the selling price on each retail sale of a motor vehicle in this state, other than retail car rentals taxed under subsection (2) of this section. The revenue collected under this subsection shall be deposited in the multimodal transportation account created in RCW 47.66.070.
     (((4))) (5) For purposes of subsection (((3))) (4) of this section, "motor vehicle" has the meaning provided in RCW 46.04.320, but does not include farm tractors or farm vehicles as defined in RCW 46.04.180 and 46.04.181, off-road and nonhighway vehicles as defined in RCW 46.09.020, and snowmobiles as defined in RCW 46.10.010.
     (((5))) (6) The taxes imposed under this chapter shall apply to successive retail sales of the same property.
     (((6))) (7) The rates provided in this section apply to taxes imposed under chapter 82.12 RCW as provided in RCW 82.12.020.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 82.04 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) "Cosmetic medical service" means any medical procedure performed on an individual over eighteen years of age that is directed at improving the subject's appearance and which does not meaningfully promote the proper function of the body or prevent or treat illness or disease. "Cosmetic medical service" includes, but is not limited to, cosmetic surgery, hair transplants, cosmetic injections, cosmetic soft tissue fillers, dermabrasion and chemical peel, laser hair removal, laser skin resurfacing, laser treatment of leg veins for cosmetic purposes, sclerotherapy for cosmetic purposes, and only in-office bleaching procedures for dentists. "Cosmetic medical service" does not include reconstructive surgery or dentistry, nor does it include services covered by the individual's medical insurance or that are deductible by the individual as medical expenses for federal income tax purposes. "Services directly related to the performance of cosmetic medical services," include occupancy at medical facilities and services provided by an anesthesiologist, surgeon, or other licensed or regulated health professional described in RCW 18.120.020, but do not include evaluation and referral by a primary care physician or consultation or treatment by a counselor, psychologist, or psychiatrist.
     (2) "Cosmetic surgery" means the surgical reshaping of normal structures on the body to improve the body image, self-esteem, or appearance of an individual.
     (3) "Reconstructive surgery or dentistry" includes any surgery or dentistry performed on abnormal structures caused by or related to congenital defects, developmental abnormalities, trauma, infection, tumors, or disease, including procedures to improve function or give a more normal appearance.