CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT

HOUSE BILL 3275

Chapter 49, Laws of 2008

60th Legislature
2008 Regular Session



GROCERY DISTRIBUTION COOPERATIVES--TAXATION



EFFECTIVE DATE: 06/12/08

Passed by the House February 15, 2008
  Yeas 94   Nays 0

FRANK CHOPP
________________________________________    
Speaker of the House of Representatives


Passed by the Senate March 4, 2008
  Yeas 49   Nays 0


BRAD OWEN
________________________________________    
President of the Senate
 
CERTIFICATE

I, Barbara Baker, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is HOUSE BILL 3275 as passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on the dates hereon set forth.


BARBARA BAKER
________________________________________    
Chief Clerk
Approved March 17, 2008, 3:22 p.m.








CHRISTINE GREGOIRE
________________________________________    
Governor of the State of Washington
 
FILED
March 18, 2008







Secretary of State
State of Washington


_____________________________________________ 

HOUSE BILL 3275
_____________________________________________

Passed Legislature - 2008 Regular Session
State of Washington60th Legislature2008 Regular Session

By Representatives Linville, Ericksen, Morris, and McIntire

  



     AN ACT Relating to the taxation of grocery distribution cooperatives; and amending RCW 82.04.298.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 82.04.298 and 2001 1st sp.s. c 9 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The amount of tax with respect to a qualified grocery distribution cooperative's sales of groceries or related goods for resale, excluding items subject to tax under RCW 82.04.260(4), to customer-owners of the grocery distribution cooperative is equal to the gross proceeds of sales of the grocery distribution cooperative multiplied by the rate of one and one-half percent.
     (2) A qualified grocery distribution cooperative is allowed a deduction from the gross proceeds of sales of groceries or related goods for resale, excluding items subject to tax under RCW 82.04.260(4), to customer-owners of the grocery distribution cooperative that is equal to the portion of the gross proceeds of sales for resale that represents the actual cost of the merchandise sold by the grocery distribution cooperative to customer-owners.
     (3) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (a) "Grocery distribution cooperative" means an entity that sells groceries and related items to customer-owners of the grocery distribution cooperative and has customer-owners, in the aggregate, who own a majority of the outstanding ownership interests of the grocery distribution cooperative or of the entity controlling the grocery distribution cooperative. "Grocery distribution cooperative" includes an entity that controls a grocery distribution cooperative.
     (b) "Qualified grocery distribution cooperative" means:
     (i) A
grocery distribution cooperative that has been determined by a court of record of the state of Washington to be not engaged in wholesaling or making sales at wholesale, within the meaning of RCW 82.04.270 or any similar provision of a municipal ordinance that imposes a tax on gross receipts, gross proceeds of sales, or gross income, with respect to purchases made by customer-owners, and subsequently changes its form of doing business to make sales at wholesale of groceries or related items to its customer-owners; or
     (ii) A grocery distribution cooperative that has acquired substantially all of the assets of a grocery distribution cooperative described in (b)(i) of this subsection
.
     (c) "Customer-owner" means a person who has an ownership interest in a grocery distribution cooperative and purchases groceries and related items at wholesale from that grocery distribution cooperative.
     (d) "Controlling" means holding fifty percent or more of the voting interests of an entity and having at least equal power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of the entity, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract, or otherwise.


         Passed by the House February 15, 2008.
         Passed by the Senate March 4, 2008.
         Approved by the Governor March 17, 2008.
         Filed in Office of Secretary of State March 18, 2008.