S-1623               _______________________________________________

                                                   SENATE BILL NO. 5878

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State of Washington                              50th Legislature                              1987 Regular Session

By Senator Peterson

Read first time 2/18/87 and referred to Committee on Transportation.

AN ACT Relating to valuation of vehicles; and amending RCW 82.44.050.

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

        Sec. 1.  Section 82.44.050, chapter 15, Laws of 1961 as last amended by section 11, chapter 222, Laws of 1981 and RCW 82.44.050 are each amended to read as follows:

          Whenever a person applies to the county auditor for a license for a motor vehicle which does not appear upon the schedule, the applicant shall ((apply to the county assessor of his county for computation of the amount of excise tax due.  Upon any such application the assessor shall appraise the vehicle at its fair market value from such automotive guidebooks or listings or other information as he may have available and ascertain the amount of excise tax by applying to such appraisal the rate prescribed in RCW 82.44.020)) make a notarized declaration of the fair market value of the vehicle.  This declared value shall be the fair market value for purposes of computing the excise tax pursuant to this chapter.  However, the department of revenue may challenge the value specified in the notarized declaration, in which case the department shall appraise the vehicle.  If the vehicle has been registered before appraisal, the department shall refund any overpayment of tax to the applicant or notify the applicant of any additional tax due.  The applicant shall pay the additional tax due within thirty days of issuance of notification by the department.

Any applicant disputing a calculation of the fair market value by the department of revenue may appeal the department's decision in a manner similar to that specified in RCW 82.49.060.

The owner shall pay the tax assessed under this chapter pursuant to the fair market value specified in the notarized declaration or as set by the department of revenue, and thereupon the applicant shall be given a certificate showing the excise tax payable under this chapter.