H-0357.1

HOUSE BILL 1512

ByRepresentative Ryu

AN ACT Relating to lodging-related assessments under chapter 35.87A RCW; amending RCW 35.87A.010, 35.87A.020, and 82.08.010; and declaring an emergency.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 35.87A.010 and 2005 c 178 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

To aid general economic development and neighborhood revitalization, and to facilitate the cooperation of merchants, businesses, and residential property owners which assists trade, economic viability, and liveability, the legislature hereby authorizes all counties and all incorporated cities and towns, including unclassified cities and towns operating under special charters:

(1) To establish, after a petition submitted by the operators responsible for sixty percent of the assessments by businesses and multifamily residential or mixed-use projects within the area, parking and business improvement areas, hereafter referred to as area or areas, for the following purposes:

(a) The acquisition, construction or maintenance of parking facilities for the benefit of the area;

(b) Decoration of any public place in the area;

(c) Sponsorship or promotion of public events which are to take place on or in public places in the area;

(d) Furnishing of music in any public place in the area;

(e) Providing professional management, planning, and promotion for the area, including the management and promotion of retail trade activities in the area;

(f) Providing maintenance and security for common, public areas; or

(g) Providing transportation services for the benefit of the area.

(2)(a) To levy special assessments on all businesses and multifamily residential or mixed-use projects within the area and specially benefited by a parking and business improvement area to pay in whole or in part the damages or costs incurred therein as provided in this chapter.

Sec. 2. RCW 35.87A.020 and 1993 c 429 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.

(1) "Business" means all types of business, including professions.

(2) "Legislative authority" means the legislative authority of any city or town including unclassified cities or towns operating under special charters or the legislative authority of any county.

(3) "Lodging business" means a person that furnishes lodging taxable by the state under chapter 82.08 RCW.

(4) "Multifamily residential or mixed-use project" means any building or buildings containing four or more residential units or a combination of residential and commercial units, whether title to the entire property is held in single or undivided ownership or title to individual units is held by owners who also, directly or indirectly through an association, own real property in common with the other unit owners.

(((4)))(5) "Residential operator" means the owner or operator of a multifamily residential or mixed-use project if title is held in single or undivided ownership, or, if title is held in a form of common interest ownership, the association of unit owners, condominium association, homeowners' association, property owners' association, or residential cooperative corporation.

Sec. 3. RCW 82.08.010 and 2019 c 8 s 105 are each amended to read as follows:

For the purposes of this chapter:

(1)(a)(i) "Selling price" includes "sales price." "Sales price" means the total amount of consideration, except separately stated trade-in property of like kind, including cash, credit, property, and services, for which tangible personal property, extended warranties, digital goods, digital codes, digital automated services, or other services or anything else defined as a "retail sale" under RCW 82.04.050 are sold, leased, or rented, valued in money, whether received in money or otherwise. ((No))Except as otherwise provided in this subsection (1), no deduction from the total amount of consideration is allowed for the following: (A) The seller's cost of the property sold; (B) the cost of materials used, labor or service cost, interest, losses, all costs of transportation to the seller, all taxes imposed on the seller, and any other expense of the seller; (C) charges by the seller for any services necessary to complete the sale, other than delivery and installation charges; (D) delivery charges; and (E) installation charges.

(ii) When tangible personal property is rented or leased under circumstances that the consideration paid does not represent a reasonable rental for the use of the articles so rented or leased, the "selling price" must be determined as nearly as possible according to the value of such use at the places of use of similar products of like quality and character under such rules as the department may prescribe;

(b) "Selling price" or "sales price" does not include: Discounts, including cash, term, or coupons that are not reimbursed by a third party that are allowed by a seller and taken by a purchaser on a sale; interest, financing, and carrying charges from credit extended on the sale of tangible personal property, extended warranties, digital goods, digital codes, digital automated services, or other services or anything else defined as a retail sale in RCW 82.04.050, if the amount is separately stated on the invoice, bill of sale, or similar document given to the purchaser; and any taxes legally imposed directly on the consumer, or collected from the consumer pursuant to RCW 35.87A.010(2)(b), that are separately stated on the invoice, bill of sale, or similar document given to the purchaser;

(c) "Selling price" or "sales price" includes consideration received by the seller from a third party if:

(i) The seller actually receives consideration from a party other than the purchaser, and the consideration is directly related to a price reduction or discount on the sale;

(ii) The seller has an obligation to pass the price reduction or discount through to the purchaser;

(iii) The amount of the consideration attributable to the sale is fixed and determinable by the seller at the time of the sale of the item to the purchaser; and

(iv) One of the criteria in this subsection (1)(c)(iv) is met:

(A) The purchaser presents a coupon, certificate, or other documentation to the seller to claim a price reduction or discount where the coupon, certificate, or documentation is authorized, distributed, or granted by a third party with the understanding that the third party will reimburse any seller to whom the coupon, certificate, or documentation is presented;

(B) The purchaser identifies himself or herself to the seller as a member of a group or organization entitled to a price reduction or discount, however a "preferred customer" card that is available to any patron does not constitute membership in such a group; or

(C) The price reduction or discount is identified as a third party price reduction or discount on the invoice received by the purchaser or on a coupon, certificate, or other documentation presented by the purchaser;

(2)(a)(i) "Seller" means every person, including the state and its departments and institutions, making sales at retail or retail sales to a buyer, purchaser, or consumer, whether as agent, broker, or principal, except as otherwise provided in this subsection (2).

(ii) "Seller" includes marketplace facilitators, whether making sales in their own right or facilitating sales on behalf of marketplace sellers.

(b)(i) "Seller" does not include:

(A) The state and its departments and institutions when making sales to the state and its departments and institutions; or

(B) A professional employer organization when a covered employee coemployed with the client under the terms of a professional employer agreement engages in activities that constitute a sale at retail that is subject to the tax imposed by this chapter. In such cases, the client, and not the professional employer organization, is deemed to be the seller and is responsible for collecting and remitting the tax imposed by this chapter.

(ii) For the purposes of this subsection (2)(b), the terms "client," "covered employee," "professional employer agreement," and "professional employer organization" have the same meanings as in RCW 82.04.540;

(3) "Buyer," "purchaser," and "consumer" include, without limiting the scope hereof, every individual, receiver, assignee, trustee in bankruptcy, trust, estate, firm, copartnership, joint venture, club, company, joint stock company, business trust, corporation, association, society, or any group of individuals acting as a unit, whether mutual, cooperative, fraternal, nonprofit, or otherwise, municipal corporation, quasi municipal corporation, and also the state, its departments and institutions and all political subdivisions thereof, irrespective of the nature of the activities engaged in or functions performed, and also the United States or any instrumentality thereof;

(4) "Delivery charges" means charges by the seller of personal property or services for preparation and delivery to a location designated by the purchaser of personal property or services including, but not limited to, transportation, shipping, postage, handling, crating, and packing;

(5) "Direct mail" means printed material delivered or distributed by United States mail or other delivery service to a mass audience or to addressees on a mailing list provided by the purchaser or at the direction of the purchaser when the cost of the items are not billed directly to the recipients. "Direct mail" includes tangible personal property supplied directly or indirectly by the purchaser to the direct mail seller for inclusion in the package containing the printed material. "Direct mail" does not include multiple items of printed material delivered to a single address;

(6) The meaning attributed in chapter 82.04 RCW to the terms "tax year," "taxable year," "person," "company," "sale," "sale at wholesale," "wholesale," "business," "engaging in business," "cash discount," "successor," "consumer," "in this state," "within this state," "marijuana," "useable marijuana," and "marijuana-infused products" applies equally to the provisions of this chapter;

(7) For the purposes of the taxes imposed under this chapter and under chapter 82.12 RCW, "tangible personal property" means personal property that can be seen, weighed, measured, felt, or touched, or that is in any other manner perceptible to the senses. Tangible personal property includes electricity, water, gas, steam, and prewritten computer software;

(8) "Extended warranty" has the same meaning as in RCW 82.04.050(7);

(9) The definitions in RCW 82.04.192 apply to this chapter;

(10) For the purposes of the taxes imposed under this chapter and chapter 82.12 RCW, whenever the terms "property" or "personal property" are used, those terms must be construed to include digital goods and digital codes unless:

(a) It is clear from the context that the term "personal property" is intended only to refer to tangible personal property;

(b) It is clear from the context that the term "property" is intended only to refer to tangible personal property, real property, or both; or

(c) To construe the term "property" or "personal property" as including digital goods and digital codes would yield unlikely, absurd, or strained consequences; and

(11) "Retail sale" or "sale at retail" means any sale, lease, or rental for any purpose other than for resale, sublease, or subrent.

(12) The terms "agriculture," "farming," "horticulture," "horticultural," and "horticultural product" may not be construed to include or relate to marijuana, useable marijuana, or marijuana-infused products unless the applicable term is explicitly defined to include marijuana, useable marijuana, or marijuana-infused products.

(13)(a) "Affiliated person" means a person that, with respect to another person:

(i) Has an ownership interest of more than five percent, whether direct or indirect, in the other person; or

(ii) Is related to the other person because a third person, or group of third persons who are affiliated persons with respect to each other, holds an ownership interest of more than five percent, whether direct or indirect, in the related persons.

(b) For purposes of this subsection (13):

(i) "Ownership interest" means the possession of equity in the capital, the stock, or the profits of the other person; and

(ii) An indirect ownership interest in a person is an ownership interest in an entity that has an ownership interest in the person or in an entity that has an indirect ownership interest in the person.

(14) "Marketplace" means a physical or electronic place, including, but not limited to, a store, a booth, an internet web site, a catalog or a dedicated sales software application, where tangible personal property, digital codes and digital products, or services are offered for sale.

(15)(a) "Marketplace facilitator" means a person that:

(i) Contracts with sellers to facilitate for consideration, regardless of whether deducted as fees from the transaction, the sale of the seller's products through a marketplace owned or operated by the person;

(ii) Engages directly or indirectly, through one or more affiliated persons, in transmitting or otherwise communicating the offer or acceptance between the buyer and seller. For purposes of this subsection, mere advertising does not constitute transmitting or otherwise communicating the offer or acceptance between the buyer and seller; and

(iii) Engages directly or indirectly, through one or more affiliated persons, in any of the following activities with respect to the seller's products:

(A) Payment processing services;

(B) Fulfillment or storage services;

(C) Listing products for sale;

(D) Setting prices;

(E) Branding sales as those of the marketplace facilitator;

(F) Taking orders; or

(G) Providing customer service or accepting or assisting with returns or exchanges.

(b)(i) "Marketplace facilitator" does not include:

(A) A person who provides internet advertising services, including listing products for sale, so long as the person does not also engage in the activity described in (a)(ii) of this subsection (15) in addition to any of the activities described in (a)(iii) of this subsection (15); or

(B) A person with respect to the provision of travel agency services or the operation of a marketplace or that portion of a marketplace that enables consumers to purchase transient lodging accommodations in a hotel or other commercial transient lodging facility.

(ii) The exclusion in this subsection (15)(b) does not apply to a marketplace or that portion of a marketplace that facilitates the retail sale of transient lodging accommodations in homes, apartments, cabins, or other residential dwelling units.

(iii) For purposes of this subsection (15)(b), the following definitions apply:

(A) "Hotel" has the same meaning as in RCW 19.48.010.

(B) "Travel agency services" means arranging or booking, for a commission, fee or other consideration, vacation or travel packages, rental car or other travel reservations or accommodations, tickets for domestic or foreign travel by air, rail, ship, bus, or other medium of transportation, or hotel or other lodging accommodations.

(16) "Marketplace seller" means a seller that makes retail sales through any marketplace operated by a marketplace facilitator, regardless of whether the seller is required to be registered with the department under RCW 82.32.030.

(17) "Remote seller" means any seller, including a marketplace facilitator, who does not have a physical presence in this state and makes retail sales to purchasers or facilitates retail sales on behalf of marketplace sellers.

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