Title: An act relating to improving the administration of department of revenue tax programs by correcting and clarifying statutes.

Brief Description: Improving tax program administration by correcting, clarifying, eliminating, repealing, and decodifying statutes related to the department of revenue.

Sponsors: Senators Schoesler, Pridemore, Roach, Zarelli, Holmquist, Keiser and Kohl-Welles.

Brief History:

Committee Activity: Ways & Means: 2/4/08, 2/7/08 [DP].

Passed Senate: 2/14/08, 48-0.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON WAYS & MEANS

Majority Report: Do pass.Signed by Senators Prentice, Chair; Fraser, Vice Chair, Capital Budget Chair; Pridemore, Vice Chair, Operating Budget; Zarelli, Ranking Minority Member; Brandland, Carrell, Fairley, Hatfield, Hewitt, Hobbs, Honeyford, Keiser, Kohl-Welles, Oemig, Parlette, Rasmussen, Regala, Roach, Rockefeller, Schoesler and Tom.

Staff: Dianne Criswell (786-7433)

Background: When legislation is enacted, it frequently contains references to other statutes. These references may become erroneous due to changes made to the referenced statutes by other legislation enacted during the same legislative session. In addition, statutes sometimes include provisions that are limited in time. These provisions become obsolete with the passage of time.

From time to time, statutory revisions are made for the purpose of increasing clarity or improving administration.

Summary of Engrossed Bill: Technical corrections are made to various provisions of the tax code by: (1) simplifying the tax code by repealing several obsolete provisions and removing extraneous language; and (2) clarifying statutory provisions.

Local Sales & Use Taxes. Eliminates obsolete language which include: contingencies which occurred; references to the motor vehicle excise tax revenue distributions; dates which have passed; and references to the Safeco stadium contract provisions which are obsolete.

Litter Tax Study. Removes the requirement that the Department of Revenue (DOR) conduct a litter tax study to evaluate collections and enforcement. Recent studies have shown a high rate of compliance.

Cigarette Tax. Deletes statutory references to "mills" per cigarette, replacing it with "cents."

Leasehold Excise Tax. Deletes obsolete language relating to 2001-03 biennium account transfers. Repeals obsolete statute concerning cancellation of taxes levied for collection in 1976 and decodifies related severability and effective date sections.

Property Tax. Removes references in RCW 84.09.030 to the obsolete dates for establishing property tax district boundaries, deleting statutory references to dates earlier than August 1.
Removes the requirement for DOR to compute a hypothetical state property tax levy without regard to the reduction of state property tax levy for collection in 1996.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Available.

Committee/Commission/Task Force Created: No.

Effective Date: Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony: PRO: These technical changes are necessary to simplify and improve the tax code.

Persons Testifying: PRO: Senator Schoesler, prime sponsor; Gil Brewer, Department of Revenue.