READ FIRST TIME 02/12/08.   

     AN ACT Relating to providing a tax exemption for working families measured by the federal earned income tax credit; adding new sections to chapter 82.08 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that many Washington families do not earn enough annually to keep pace with increasing health care, child care, and work-related expenses. Because the state relies so heavily on sales tax revenue, families in Washington with the lowest incomes pay proportionately four or five times as much in state taxes as the most affluent households. The legislature finds that higher-income families are able to recover some of the sales and use taxes that they pay to support state and local government through the federal income tax deduction for sales and use taxes, but that lower-income people, who are not able to itemize, receive no benefit. Therefore, it is the intent of the legislature to provide a sales and use tax exemption, in the form of a remittance, to lower-income working families in Washington, and to use the federal earned income tax credit as a proxy for the amount of sales tax paid.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 82.08 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) A working families' tax exemption, in the form of a remittance tax due under this chapter and chapter 82.12 RCW, is provided to eligible low-income persons for sales taxes paid under this chapter after January 1, 2008.
     (2) For purposes of the exemption in this section, an eligible low-income person is:
     (a) An individual, or an individual and that individual's spouse if they file a federal joint income tax return;
     (b) Who is eligible for, and is granted, the credit provided in Title 26 U.S.C. Sec. 32; and
     (c) Who properly files a federal income tax return as a Washington resident, and has been a resident of the state of Washington more than one hundred eighty days of the year for which the exemption is claimed.
     (3) For remittances made in 2009 and 2010, the working families' tax exemption for the prior year is a retail sales tax exemption equal to the greater of five percent of the credit granted as a result of Title 26 U.S.C. Sec. 32 in the most recent year for which data is available or twenty-five dollars. For 2011 and thereafter, the working families' tax exemption for the prior year is equal to the greater of ten percent of the credit granted as a result of Title 26 U.S.C. Sec. 32 in the most recent year for which data is available or fifty dollars.
     (4) For any fiscal period, the working families' tax exemption authorized under this section shall be approved by the legislature in the state omnibus appropriations act before persons may claim the exemption during the fiscal period.
     (5) The working families' tax exemption shall be administered as provided in this subsection.
     (a) An eligible low-income person claiming an exemption under this section must pay the tax imposed under chapters 82.08, 82.12, and 82.14 RCW in the year for which the exemption is claimed. The eligible low-income person may then apply to the department for the remittance as calculated under subsection (3) of this section.
     (b) Application shall be made to the department in a form and manner determined by the department, but the department must provide alternative filing methods for applicants who do not have access to electronic filing.
     (c) Application for the exemption remittance under this section must be made in the year following the year for which the federal return was filed, but in no case may any remittance be provided for any period before January 1, 2008. The department may use the best available data to process the exemption remittance. The department shall begin accepting applications October 1, 2009.
     (d) The department shall review the application and determine eligibility for the working families tax exemption based on information provided by the applicant and through audit and other administrative records, including, when it deems it necessary, verification through internal revenue service data.
     (e) The department shall remit the exempted amounts to eligible low-income persons who submitted applications. Remittances may be made by electronic funds transfer or other means.
     (f) The department may, in conjunction with other agencies or organizations, design and implement a public information campaign to inform potentially eligible persons of the existence of and requirements for this exemption.
     (g) The department may contact persons who appear to be eligible low-income persons as a result of information received from the internal revenue service under such conditions and requirements as the internal revenue service may by law require.
     (6) The provisions of chapter 82.32 RCW apply to the exemption in this section.
     (7) The department may adopt rules necessary to implement this section.
     (8) The department shall limit its costs for the exemption program to the initial start-up costs to implement the program. The state omnibus appropriations act shall specify funding to be used for the ongoing administrative costs of the program. These ongoing administrative costs include, but are not limited to, costs for: The processing of internet and mail applications, verification of application claims, compliance and collections, additional full-time employees at the department's call center, processing warrants, updating printed materials and web information, media advertising, and support and maintenance of computer systems.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 82.08 RCW to read as follows:
     The department must assess the implementation of the working families' tax exemption in a report to the legislature to identify administrative or resource issues that require legislative action. The department must submit the report to the finance committee of the house of representatives and the ways and means committee of the senate by December 1, 2012.