H-172                _______________________________________________

                                                    HOUSE BILL NO. 162

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              50th Legislature                              1987 Regular Session

By Representatives Winsley, Madsen, Valle, Grimm, Sayan, Schoon, Padden, Taylor, Holland, Braddock, Fisher, Rasmussen, Vekich, K. Wilson, Basich and Sanders

Read first time 1/19/87 and referred to Committee on Ways & Means.

AN ACT Relating to property taxes; amending RCW 84.56.020 and 84.56.025; and creating a new section.

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

        Sec. 1.  Section 84.56.020, chapter 15, Laws of 1961 as last amended by section 1, chapter 131, Laws of 1984 and RCW 84.56.020 are each amended to read as follows:

          The county treasurer shall be the receiver and collector of all taxes extended upon the tax rolls of the county, whether levied for state, county, school, bridge, road, municipal or other purposes, and also of all fines, forfeitures or penalties received by any person or officer for the use of his or her county.  All taxes upon real and personal property made payable by the provisions of this title shall be due and payable to the treasurer as aforesaid on or before the thirtieth day of April and shall be delinquent after that date:  PROVIDED, That when the total amount of tax on personal property or on any lot, block or tract of real property payable by one person is ten dollars or more, and if one-half of such tax be paid on or before the said thirtieth day of April, the remainder of such tax shall be due and payable on or before the thirty-first day of October following and shall be delinquent after that date:  PROVIDED FURTHER, That when the total amount of tax on any lot, block or tract of real property payable by one person is ten dollars or more, and if one-half of such tax be paid after the thirtieth day of April but before the thirty-first day of October, together with the applicable interest ((and penalty)) on the full amount of such tax, the remainder of such tax shall be due and payable on or before the thirty-first day of October following and shall be delinquent after that date.

Delinquent taxes under this section are subject to interest at the rate of twelve percent per annum computed on a monthly basis from the date of delinquency until paid.  Interest shall be calculated at the rate in effect at the time of payment of the tax, regardless of when the taxes were first delinquent.  ((In addition, delinquent taxes under this section are subject to penalties as follows:

          (1) A penalty of three percent shall be assessed on the amount of tax delinquent on May 31st of the year in which the tax is due.

          (2) An additional penalty of eight percent shall be assessed on the total amount of tax delinquent on November 30th of the year in which the tax is due.

          (3) Penalties under this section shall not be assessed on taxes that were first delinquent prior to 1982.

          For purposes of this chapter, "interest" means both interest and penalties.))

All collections of interest on delinquent taxes shall be credited to the county current expense fund; but the cost of foreclosure and sale of real property, and the fees and costs of distraint and sale of personal property, for delinquent taxes, shall, when collected, be credited to the operation and maintenance fund of the county treasurer prosecuting the foreclosure or distraint or sale; and shall be used by the county treasurer as a revolving fund to defray the cost of further foreclosure, distraint and sale for delinquent taxes without regard to budget limitations.

        Sec. 2.  Section 1, chapter 185, Laws of 1984 and RCW 84.56.025 are each amended to read as follows:

          The interest ((and penalties)) for delinquencies on property taxes, which taxes are levied on real estate in the year of a conveyance of the real estate and which are collected in the following year, shall be waived by the county treasurer under the following circumstances:

          (1) Records conveying the real estate were filed with the county auditor on or before November 30 of the year the taxes are levied;

          (2) A grantee's name and address are included in the records; and

          (3) The notice for these taxes due, as provided in RCW 84.56.050, was not sent to a grantee due to error by the county.  Where such waiver of interest ((and penalties)) has occurred, the full amount of interest ((and penalties)) shall be reinstated if the grantee fails to pay the delinquent taxes within thirty days of receiving notice that the taxes are due.  Each county treasurer shall, subject to guidelines prepared by the department of revenue, establish administrative procedures to determine if grantees are eligible for this waiver.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.     This act applies to taxes levied for collection in 1988, and thereafter.