FINAL BILL REPORT

SSB 5167

C 174 L 11

Synopsis as Enacted

Brief Description: Concerning tax statute clarifications and technical corrections, including for the purposes of local rental car taxes.

Sponsors: Senate Committee on Ways & Means (originally sponsored by Senators Schoesler, Murray, Honeyford, Pridemore, Kilmer and Tom).

Senate Committee on Ways & Means

House Committee on Ways & Means

Background: Technical errors may develop in the tax code in the course of on-going statutory enactment and amendment. For example, legislation frequently includes statutory references to link new laws or amendments to existing definitions or related statutory provisions. If changes are subsequently made to these statutes, the references may become incorrect. Also, when statutes include provisions tied to expiration dates, they may later become obsolete for purposes of any statutory references. Further, instances may arise when statutory sections have been amended more than once during a legislative session, each without reference to the other; when these amendments cannot be merged, double amendments result.

Summary: A subsection reference is added to the service and other activities business and occupation (B&O) tax rate to clarify that the tax rate does not apply to any activity taxed under the international services B&O rate.

The word "common" is deleted from the definition of "affiliated" in the B&O tax provision that provides an exemption of amounts received by a financial institution from an affiliated person. This change makes the definitions related to affiliated entities consistent throughout the excise-tax code.

References and definitions in the Food Stamp Program are updated in the sales and use tax chapters to reflect current law.

In the Property Tax Relief Program for Low-Income Seniors and Disabled Persons, two changes are made: (1) eligibility requirements for disabled veterans are modified to reflect federal definitions of service-connected disability; and (2) a section requiring notice to taxpayers is changed to reflect less frequent program participant renewal filing, which was changed in 2010 from every six to every four years.

Part II of the bill updates statutory references due to legislative activity from the 2010 regular legislative session.

Part III codifies a single version of statutes relating to aluminum smelters with multiple amendments that could not be merged as a result of legislation enacted in the 2010 regular legislative session and the 2010 first special session. It also combines multiple amendments to the annual survey provisions.

Part IV combines two statutory provisions relating to the subpoena of tax records, documents, or testimony.

The act removes the requirement that 75 percent of the receipts from the local 1 percent tax on car rentals must be used for three of the four statutory purposes permitted: to acquire, construct, maintain, or operate a public sports stadium; to pay for services incidental to a public sports stadium facility; and to pay debt service for the construction of a public sports stadium facility. The fourth statutory purpose for which tax receipts may be used is for youth or amateur sport activities or facilities.

Votes on Final Passage: