(1) The legislative body of any county may impose a tax upon every person engaging in the county in business as a harvester effective October 1, 1984. The tax shall be equal to the stumpage value of timber harvested from privately owned land multiplied by a rate of 4 percent; and equal to the stumpage value of timber harvested from publicly owned land multiplied by the following rates:
(a) For timber harvested January 1, 2005, through December 31, 2005, 1.2 percent;
(b) For timber harvested January 1, 2006, through December 31, 2006, 1.5 percent;
(c) For timber harvested January 1, 2007, through December 31, 2007, 1.8 percent;
(d) For timber harvested January 1, 2008, through December 31, 2008, 2.1 percent;
(e) For timber harvested January 1, 2009, through December 31, 2009, 2.4 percent;
(f) For timber harvested January 1, 2010, through December 31, 2010, 2.7 percent;
(g) For timber harvested January 1, 2011, through December 31, 2011, 3.1 percent;
(h) For timber harvested January 1, 2012, through December 31, 2012, 3.4 percent;
(i) For timber harvested January 1, 2013, through December 31, 2013, 3.7 percent;
(j) For timber harvested January 1, 2014, and thereafter, 4.0 percent.
(2) Before the effective date of any ordinance imposing a tax under this section, the county shall contract with the department of revenue for administration and collection of the tax. The tax collected by the department of revenue under this section shall be deposited by the department in the timber tax distribution account. Moneys in the account may be spent only for distributions to counties under RCW
84.33.081 and, after appropriation by the legislature, for the activities undertaken by the department of revenue relating to the collection and administration of the taxes imposed under this section and RCW
84.33.041. Appropriations are not required for distributions to counties under RCW
84.33.081.