Washington Business Fall 2015 | Legislative Review | Page 38

2015 legislative review

and use-tax exemptions for restaurant
employee meals to apply only to the restaurant’s employees. AWB supported this
legislation, which was approved by the
Legislature and signed into law.

SB 5826

SB 6057

Passed/AWB Neutral

Passed/AWB Supported

Sponsored by Sen. Mark Mullet,

SB 5449

this legislation establishes a “market-

Failed/AWB Supported

state Department of Commerce. This is

Numerous tax incentives were set to expire
in 2015 and were either continued, modified or allowed to expire with the passage
of Senate Bill 6057. AWB believes that tax
incentives are an important part of our
tax code to protect and promote economic development opportunities, eliminate
double taxation and to change behavior. Fifteen different tax incentives were
addressed in the final budget deal, allowing for greater consistency in tax treatment
for food processors, aluminum smelters
and ceramic molds. The bill also continued the successful data center exemption
while also enhancing the maritime industry and updating unclaimed property laws.
SB 6057 passed the Senate 38-10 and the
House 77-21. AWB supports this bill, which
has been signed into law by the governor.

small business retirement
D-Issaquah, and signed by the governor,
place” for retirement plans run by the

tax appeal reform
Senate Bill 5449 would have eliminated the
Board of Tax Appeals and transferred the
duties to a new division in the Court of Tax
Appeals. A top priority for AWB is to provide an independent process for appealing
tax assessments while allowing taxpayers
to appeal without prepayment requirements. The bill would have improved
fairness for taxpayers, promoted due process and improved our state’s ranking from
the Council on State Taxation from a C+
to an A-. The bill passed the Senate 33-16
with strong bipartisan support,
but it failed to gain traction in
the House after the Court of
Appeals voiced opposition over
constitutional concerns.

designed to provide greater centralization
of certain retirement plans and is intended to work with the private sector. AWB
supports increased access to retirement
plans for employers and their employees
and has a 401(k) program available to
our members at MyFuture401k.com. We
also support public-private partnerships,
though we are concerned that potential
expansion of this program could put
government in competition with the
private sector.

tax incentives

SB 5511

reducing the
frequency of local
sales and use tax
changes
Failed/AWB Supported
Senate Bill 5511, sponsored by
Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia,
was part of the Senate jobs
package. It sought to reduce the
number of times a local government may change its sales tax
rate. It passed the Senate 47-1
before getting tied up in budget
negotiations. Currently, cities
and counties can raise local sales
and use taxes up to four times
a year. The bill was eliminated
from the final budget agreement
in the third special session.

Tom McBride, left, an