BILL REQ. #:  H-0707.1 

Read first time 01/27/2003.   Referred to Committee on Finance.

     AN ACT Relating to business and occupation tax credits and deferrals for research and development and high technology job creation; and amending RCW 82.04.4452 and 82.63.030.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 82.04.4452 and 2000 c 103 s 7 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) In computing the tax imposed under this chapter, a credit is allowed for each person whose research and development spending during the year in which the credit is claimed exceeds 0.92 percent of the person's taxable amount during the same calendar year.
     (2) The credit is equal to the greater of the amount of qualified research and development expenditures of a person or eighty percent of amounts received by a person other than a public educational or research institution in compensation for the conduct of qualified research and development, multiplied by the rate provided in RCW 82.04.260(3) in the case of a nonprofit corporation or nonprofit association engaging within this state in research and development, and the rate provided in RCW 82.04.290(2) for every other person.
     (3) Any person entitled to the credit provided in subsection (2) of this section as a result of qualified research and development conducted under contract may assign all or any portion of the credit to the person contracting for the performance of the qualified research and development.
     (4) The credit, including any credit assigned to a person under subsection (3) of this section, shall be taken against taxes due for the same calendar year in which the qualified research and development expenditures are incurred. The credit, including any credit assigned to a person under subsection (3) of this section, for each calendar year shall not exceed the lesser of two million dollars or the amount of tax otherwise due under this chapter for the calendar year.
     (5) Any person taking the credit, including any credit assigned to a person under subsection (3) of this section, whose research and development spending during the calendar year in which the credit is claimed fails to exceed 0.92 percent of the person's taxable amount during the same calendar year shall be liable for payment of the additional taxes represented by the amount of credit taken together with interest, but not penalties. Interest shall be due at the rate provided for delinquent excise taxes retroactively to the date the credit was taken until the taxes are paid. Any credit assigned to a person under subsection (3) of this section that is disallowed as a result of this section may be taken by the person who performed the qualified research and development subject to the limitations set forth in subsection (4) of this section.
     (6) Any person claiming the credit, and any person assigning a credit as provided in subsection (3) of this section, shall file an affidavit form prescribed by the department which shall include the amount of the credit claimed, an estimate of the anticipated qualified research and development expenditures during the calendar year for which the credit is claimed, an estimate of the taxable amount during the calendar year for which the credit is claimed, and such additional information as the department may prescribe.
     (7) A person claiming the credit shall agree to supply the department with information necessary to measure the results of the tax credit program for qualified research and development expenditures.
     (8) The department shall use the information required under subsection (7) of this section to perform three assessments on the tax credit program authorized under this section. The assessments will take place in 1997, 2000, and 2003. The department shall prepare reports on each assessment and deliver their reports by September 1, 1997, September 1, 2000, and September 1, 2003. The assessments shall measure the effect of the program on job creation, the number of jobs created for Washington residents, company growth, the introduction of new products, the diversification of the state's economy, growth in research and development investment, the movement of firms or the consolidation of firms' operations into the state, and such other factors as the department selects.
     (9) For the purpose of this section:
     (a) "Qualified research and development expenditures" means operating expenses, including wages, compensation of a proprietor or a partner in a partnership as determined under rules adopted by the department, benefits, supplies, and computer expenses, directly incurred in qualified research and development by a person claiming the credit provided in this section. The term does not include amounts paid to a person other than a public educational or research institution to conduct qualified research and development. Nor does the term include capital costs and overhead, such as expenses for land, structures, or depreciable property.
     (b) "Qualified research and development" shall have the same meaning as in RCW 82.63.010.
     (c) "Research and development spending" means qualified research and development expenditures plus eighty percent of amounts paid to a person other than a public educational or research institution to conduct qualified research and development.
     (d) "Taxable amount" means the taxable amount subject to the tax imposed in this chapter required to be reported on the person's combined excise tax returns during the year in which the credit is claimed, less any taxable amount for which a credit is allowed under RCW 82.04.440.
     (((10) This section expires December 31, 2004.))

Sec. 2   RCW 82.63.030 and 1994 sp.s. c 5 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the department shall issue a sales and use tax deferral certificate for state and local sales and use taxes due under chapters 82.08, 82.12, and 82.14 RCW on each eligible investment project.
     (2) No certificate may be issued for an investment project that has already received a deferral under chapter 82.60 or 82.61 RCW or this chapter, except that an investment project for qualified research and development that has already received a deferral may also receive an additional deferral certificate for adapting the investment project for use in pilot scale manufacturing.
     (((3) This section shall expire July 1, 2004.))