H-1377.1  _______________________________________________

                          HOUSE BILL 1779

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      56th Legislature     1999 Regular Session

By Representatives Alexander, Kessler, Mulliken and Doumit

Read first time 02/05/1999.  Referred to Committee on Economic Development, Housing & Trade.

Financing qualifying public facilities with a rural county sales and use tax.

    AN ACT Relating to tax incentives in rural counties; and amending RCW 82.14.370.

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

    Sec. 1.  RCW 82.14.370 and 1998 c 55 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:

    (1) The legislative authority of a ((distressed)) rural county may impose a sales and use tax in accordance with the terms of this chapter.  The tax is in addition to other taxes authorized by law and shall be collected from those persons who are taxable by the state under chapters 82.08 and 82.12 RCW upon the occurrence of any taxable event within the county.  The rate of tax shall not exceed ((0.04)) 0.08 percent of the selling price in the case of a sales tax or value of the article used in the case of a use tax.

    (2) The tax imposed under subsection (1) of this section shall be deducted from the amount of tax otherwise required to be collected or paid over to the department of revenue under chapter 82.08 or 82.12 RCW.  The department of revenue shall perform the collection of such taxes on behalf of the county at no cost to the county.

    (3) Moneys collected under this section shall only be used for the purpose of financing qualifying public facilities in rural counties.  The public facility must be listed as an item in the county's capital facilities plan or the capital facilities plan of a city located within the county.

    (4) No tax may be collected under this section before July 1, 1998.  No tax may be collected under this section by a county more than twenty-five years after the date that a tax is first imposed under this section.

    (5) For purposes of this section((, "distressed)):

(a) "Rural county" means a county ((in which the average level of unemployment for the three years before the year in which a tax is first imposed under this section exceeds the average state unemployment for those years by twenty percent)) with a population density of fewer than one hundred persons per square mile, as determined by the office of financial management.

(b) "Public facilities" means a project of a local government for the planning, acquisition, construction, repair, reconstruction, replacement, rehabilitation, or improvement of bridges, roads, domestic and industrial water, flood control, earth stabilization, sanitary sewer, storm sewer, railroad, electricity, natural gas, telecommunications, buildings or structures, and port facilities, all for the purpose of job creation, job retention, or job expansion.

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