For the purposes of this chapter:
(1) The meaning attributed in chapters
82.01 through
82.27 RCW to the words and phrases "tax year," "taxable year," "person," "company," "gross proceeds of sales," "gross income of the business," "business," "engaging in business," "successor," "gross operating revenue," "gross income," "taxpayer," "retail sale," "seller," "buyer," "purchaser," "extended warranty," and "value of products" apply equally to the provisions of this chapter.
(2) Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the term "tax" includes any monetary exaction, regardless of its label, that the department is responsible for collecting, but not including interest, penalties, the surcharge imposed in RCW
40.14.027, or fees incurred by the department and recouped from taxpayers.
(3) Whenever "property" or "personal property" is used, those terms must be construed to include digital goods and digital codes unless: (a) It is clear from the context that the term "personal property" is intended only to refer to tangible personal property; (b) it is clear from the context that the term "property" is intended only to refer to tangible personal property, real property, or both; or (c) to construe the term "property" or "personal property" as including digital goods and digital codes would yield unlikely, absurd, or strained consequences.
(4) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this chapter, unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
(a) "Agreement" means the streamlined sales and use tax agreement.
(b) "Associate member" means a petitioning state that is found to be in compliance with the agreement and changes to its laws, rules, or other authorities necessary to bring it into compliance are not in effect, but are scheduled to take effect on or before January 1, 2008. The petitioning states, by majority vote, may also grant associate member status to a petitioning state that does not receive an affirmative vote of three-fourths of the petitioning states upon a finding that the state has achieved substantial compliance with the terms of the agreement as a whole, but not necessarily each required provision, measured qualitatively, and there is a reasonable expectation that the state will achieve compliance by January 1, 2008.
(c) "Certified automated system" means software certified under the agreement to calculate the tax imposed by each jurisdiction on a transaction, determine the amount of tax to remit to the appropriate state, and maintain a record of the transaction.
(d) "Certified service provider" means an agent certified under the agreement to perform all of the seller's sales and use tax functions, other than the seller's obligation to remit tax on its own purchases.
(e)(i) "Member state" means a state that:
(A) Has petitioned for membership in the agreement and submitted a certificate of compliance; and
(B) Before the effective date of the agreement, has been found to be in compliance with the requirements of the agreement by an affirmative vote of three-fourths of the other petitioning states; or
(C) After the effective date of the agreement, has been found to be in compliance with the agreement by a three-fourths vote of the entire governing board of the agreement.
(ii) Membership by reason of (e)(i)(A) and (B) of this subsection is effective on the first day of a calendar quarter at least sixty days after at least ten states comprising at least twenty percent of the total population, as determined by the 2000 federal census, of all states imposing a state sales tax have petitioned for membership and have either been found in compliance with the agreement or have been found to be an associate member under section 704 of the agreement.
(iii) Membership by reason of (e)(i)(A) and (C) of this subsection is effective on the state's proposed date of entry or the first day of the calendar quarter after its petition is approved by the governing board, whichever is later, and is at least sixty days after its petition is approved.
(f) "Model 1 seller" means a seller that has selected a certified service provider as its agent to perform all the seller's sales and use tax functions as outlined in the contract between the streamlined sales tax governing board and the certified service provider, other than the seller's obligation to remit tax on its own purchases.
(g) "Model 2 seller" means a seller that has selected a certified automated system to perform part of its sales and use tax functions, but retains responsibility for remitting the tax.
(h) "Model 3 seller" means a seller that has sales in at least five member states, has total annual sales revenue of at least five hundred million dollars, has a proprietary system that calculates the amount of tax due each jurisdiction, and has entered into a performance agreement with the member states that establishes a tax performance standard for the seller. As used in this subsection (4)(h), a seller includes an affiliated group of sellers using the same proprietary system.
(i) "Source" means the location in which the sale or use of tangible personal property, a digital good or digital code, an extended warranty, or a digital automated service or other service, subject to tax under chapter
82.08, 82.12, 82.14, or
82.14B RCW, is deemed to occur.