H-3681              _______________________________________________

                                                   HOUSE BILL NO. 2628

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1990 Regular Session

By Representatives Wang, Holland, P. King, Crane, Wineberry, Brumsickle, Kremen, Ferguson, Wood, Wolfe, Horn, Van Luven, Jones, Scott, Brekke, Bowman and Walker

Read first time 1/17/90 and referred to Committees on Trade & Economic Development/Revenue.

AN ACT Relating to child care; adding a new section to chapter 82.04 RCW; and providing an effective date.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 82.04 RCW to read as follows:

          (1) As used in this section, "child care assistance" includes, but is not limited to:

          (a) Provision of an on-site or off-site child care facility, including construction of a facility;

          (b) Subsidies for home-provider care or center-based care;

          (c) Reimbursements to employees for child care expenses; or

          (d) Provision of information and referral services to assist the taxpayer's employees to obtain child care.

          (2) In computing tax due under this chapter, a credit against the amount of tax is allowed for fifty percent of the amount paid by the taxpayer during the reporting period for child care assistance provided to an employee of the taxpayer.  Credit for an on-site or off-site employee child care facility shall be based, with respect to any employee, on the use and value of the service provided to the employee at the facility, under rules adopted by the department.  In computing credit under this section, the taxpayer may not claim more than two thousand five hundred dollars of credit for any employee in any tax year.  The credit allowed under this section shall not exceed thirty thousand dollars for any taxpayer in any tax year.

          (3) (a) To be eligible for credit for constructing a child care facility under this section, the taxpayer shall certify to the department that the costs for which the credit is claimed are paid with respect to constructing a child care facility that will be in operation for at least sixty consecutive months.  The department may require any information necessary to evaluate eligibility under this section.

          (b) If the taxpayer ceases using the facility for which a credit is claimed for child care purposes within sixty months of completion of the facility, the taxpayer shall repay all tax credits claimed plus interest and penalties computed under chapter 82.32 RCW from the date the amounts claimed as credits would have otherwise been due as taxes.

          (4) If child care is provided by a consortium of two or more taxpayers, the tax credit authorized in this section shall be allowed to participating taxpayers in proportion to each taxpayer's respective share of the costs paid in providing the child care.

          (5) This section shall not apply to expenditures for:

          (a) Child care services or facilities provided out-of-state;

          (b) Child care services that are not licensed pursuant to the requirements of chapter 74.15 RCW; or

          (c) Child care services that are provided pursuant to a salary reduction plan.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.     If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.     This act shall take effect July 1, 1990.