S-1908               _______________________________________________

                                          SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL NO. 8013

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              50th Legislature                              1987 Regular Session

By Senators West, Stratton, Warnke, McCaslin and Bauer

Read first time 2/20/87 and referred to Committee on Commerce & Labor.

TO THE HONORABLE CECIL ANDRUS, GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF IDAHO, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF IDAHO, AND TO THE MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO:

          We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the state of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:

          WHEREAS, Many residents of the state of Washington who are employees of common carriers travel across the Washington-Idaho border in the regular course of their daily employment; and

          WHEREAS, These nonresidents impose no tax burden on the state of Idaho which is receiving a windfall from these Washington residents; and

          WHEREAS, The employers of these nonresidents are common carriers which do pay a substantial share of state and local taxes in Idaho, such as fuel taxes and registration fees, and various other excise and property taxes, to cover the cost of governmental services from which they benefit while present in the state; and

          WHEREAS, It is patently inequitable for one state to tax another state's residents for purported benefits received from governmental services when the nonresidents taxed are neither living, nor working to any substantial degree, in the taxing state; and

          WHEREAS, Current federal law allows withholding of state income tax by common carriers from their employees' wages if more than fifty percent of the distance traveled by the employee is within a state other than the employee's state of residence; and

          WHEREAS, In imposing state income tax on these employees, the state of Idaho is taxing nonresidents who as such have no vote or voice in the imposition of the tax or its rate, and receive no benefit from the expenditure of their tax money; and

          WHEREAS, The fact that current federal law allows this taxation without representation does not make the collection of such taxes from these nonresident employees equitable;

          NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully urge the legislature of the state of Idaho to ensure more fair treatment of employees of common carriers who cross state lines by relieving these nonresidents from the obligation to pay income tax to the state of Idaho.

          BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable Cecil Andrus, Governor of the state of Idaho, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the state of Idaho, and each member of the legislature of the state of Idaho.