H-3511              _______________________________________________

                                                   HOUSE BILL NO. 2424

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1990 Regular Session

By Representatives Ballard, Wang, Holland, Pruitt, Horn, Morris, Silver, Basich, Brumsickle, Rust, Miller, Rasmussen, Wood, Fraser, Bowman, Todd, Wolfe, Leonard, Youngsman, G. Fisher, Forner, Van Luven, Jacobsen, Betrozoff, Beck, Winsley, Fuhrman, Rayburn, Sprenkle, P. King, Heavey, Inslee, Crane, Kirby, Smith, R. Fisher, Rector, Hankins, Doty, Jones, Tate, Dellwo, Ebersole, Zellinsky, May, Brooks, Kremen, R. Meyers, Phillips, Ferguson, K. Wilson, Spanel and McLean

Read first time 1/12/90 and referred to Committee on Revenue.

AN ACT Relating to directing a study to define taxpayers' rights and responsibilities; and creating new sections.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.     The legislature finds that tax collection is the most sensitive point of contact between citizens and their government and that revenue collection must be delicately balanced against freedom from government oppression.  The legislature intends to place guarantees in Washington law to ensure that the rights, privacy, and property of Washington taxpayers are adequately protected during the tax assessment and collection process.

          The legislature further finds that the state tax system is complicated and far-reaching because it is based on many kinds of taxes and user fees.  To promote good relations between taxpayers and the government and greater taxpayer understanding, the legislature further intends to improve the clarity of the tax laws and efforts to inform the public of the proper application of those laws.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.     The department of revenue is directed to study the rights and responsibilities of taxpayers as they are enumerated in statute, administrative law, and department practice and to make a report with recommendations to the legislature on November 1, 1990.  The speaker of the house of representatives and the senate majority leader will each appoint one member from each caucus to serve as the legislative advisory committee to the department for this study.  The recommendations will provide the basis for the taxpayers' bill of rights and responsibilities of 1991.

          The department of revenue shall include in its report an evaluation of a taxpayer ombudsman for Washington state, the efficacy of the power to abate tax payments under specified circumstances, the need for clarification of the tax code to make it more understandable to our citizens, the publications available that explain taxpayer rights and responsibilities, the legal rights to sue and attendant responsibilities, the consistency throughout the department in tax collection methods, ways to improve voluntary compliance and uniform enforcement, and other issues the department chooses.