Tax Incentives
The state of Washington provides several tax incentives for manufacturers. The intent of the incentives
is to encourage the development and preservation of jobs by assisting business in growth or relocation
efforts. Manufacturers in the state of Washington have taken advantage, to the benefit of the state
economy, of several of these tax incentives including the sales and use tax exemption for manufacturing
machinery and equipment (M&E), the rural county business and occupation (B&O) tax, and the
business and occupation tax exemption for food processors. These, and other tax incentives provided
to manufacturers by the state of Washington have been factors in recruiting new business to the state
as well as the expansion of existing business. Washington state manufacturers attending AWB’s regional
manufacturing meetings identified the following concerns about tax incentives in the state of Washington:
• The rural county B&O tax credit is important to preserve.
• The sales tax exemption for new and replacement equipment is extremely valuable to the industry.
• M&E has been used and is beneficial to business expansion in the state.
• Washington is one of the country’s leading food processing states; only California and Florida
have more agricultural commodities than Washington state.
• Food processing is a $11.7 billion industry in Washington state, employing more than 40,500
people. That’s why Washington state food processors want to retain the cu