H-0865.1

HOUSE BILL 1672

ByRepresentatives Couture, Mosbrucker, Corry, Volz, Christian, McEntire, Walsh, and Eslick

AN ACT Relating to a spirits tax exemption on spirits purchased for use as fund-raising prizes by veterans' service organizations; amending RCW 82.08.150; adding a new section 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. A new section is added to chapter 82.08 RCW to read as follows:

(1) Beginning January 1, 2024, the tax levied by RCW 82.08.150 does not apply to sales of spirits purchased by a Washington veterans' service organization that is used as a fund-raising prize for a veterans' service organization fund-raising event.

(2) For purposes of this section, "veterans' service organization" means a nonprofit entity whose principal focus is raising funds to assist veterans of the armed forces of the United States and meets at least one of the following criteria:

(a) An organization exempt from tax under section 501(c) (3), (4), or (10) of the internal revenue code;

(b) A nonprofit organization that would qualify under (a) of this subsection except that it is not organized as a nonprofit corporation; or

(c) A nonprofit organization if:

(i) The members, stockholders, officers, directors, or trustees of the organization do not receive any part of the organization's gross income, except as payment for services rendered; and

(ii) The compensation received by any person for services rendered to the organization does not exceed an amount reasonable under the circumstances.

Sec. 2. RCW 82.08.150 and 2021 c 48 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) There is levied and collected a tax upon each retail sale of spirits in the original package at the rate of fifteen percent of the selling price.

(2) There is levied and collected a tax upon each sale of spirits in the original package at the rate of ten percent of the selling price on sales by a spirits distributor licensee or other licensee acting as a spirits distributor pursuant to Title 66 RCW to restaurant spirits retailers.

(3) There is levied and collected an additional tax upon each sale of spirits in the original package by a spirits distributor licensee or other licensee acting as a spirits distributor pursuant to Title 66 RCW to a restaurant spirits retailer and upon each retail sale of spirits in the original package by a licensee of the board at the rate of one dollar and seventy-two cents per liter.

(4) An additional tax is imposed equal to fourteen percent multiplied by the taxes payable under subsections (1), (2), and (3) of this section.

(5) An additional tax is imposed upon each sale of spirits in the original package by a spirits distributor licensee or other licensee acting as a spirits distributor pursuant to Title 66 RCW to a restaurant spirits retailer and upon each retail sale of spirits in the original package by a licensee of the board at the rate of seven cents per liter. All revenues collected during any month from this additional tax must be deposited in the state general fund by the twenty-fifth day of the following month.

(6)(a) An additional tax is imposed upon retail sale of spirits in the original package at the rate of three and four-tenths percent of the selling price.

(b) An additional tax is imposed upon retail sale of spirits in the original package to a restaurant spirits retailer at the rate of two and three-tenths percent of the selling price.

(c) An additional tax is imposed upon each sale of spirits in the original package by a spirits distributor licensee or other licensee acting as a spirits distributor pursuant to Title 66 RCW to a restaurant spirits retailer and upon each retail sale of spirits in the original package by a licensee of the board at the rate of forty-one cents per liter.

(d) All revenues collected during any month from additional taxes under this subsection must be deposited in the state general fund by the twenty-fifth day of the following month.

(7)(a) An additional tax is imposed upon each retail sale of spirits in the original package at the rate of one dollar and thirty-three cents per liter.

(b) All revenues collected during any month from additional taxes under this subsection must be deposited by the twenty-fifth day of the following month into the general fund.

(8) The tax imposed in RCW 82.08.020 does not apply to sales of spirits in the original package.

(9) The taxes imposed in this section must be paid by the buyer to the seller, and each seller must collect from the buyer the full amount of the tax payable in respect to each taxable sale under this section. The taxes required by this section to be collected by the seller must be stated separately from the selling price, and for purposes of determining the tax due from the buyer to the seller, it is conclusively presumed that the selling price quoted in any price list does not include the taxes imposed by this section. Sellers must report and return all taxes imposed in this section in accordance with rules adopted by the department.

(10) In accordance with section 1 of this act, spirits taxes under this section do not apply to sales of spirits purchased by a Washington veterans' service organization that is used as a fund-raising prize for a veterans' service organization fund-raising event.

(11)(a) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the terms, "spirits" and "package" have the same meaning as provided in chapter 66.04 RCW.

(b) Until July 1, 2023, for the purposes of the taxes imposed under this section, the term "spirits" does not include mini-bottles of spirits sold by a person who possesses a valid endorsement under section 2(6), chapter 48, Laws of 2021 and is licensed as a spirits, beer, and wine restaurant under RCW 66.24.400.

(c) For the purposes of this subsection, "mini-bottles of spirits" means an original factory-sealed container holding not more than 50 milliliters of spirits.

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