Intangible assets tax

AN ACT Relating to creating fairness in Washington's tax code to 1
support Washington families and fund vital investments in K-12 2
schools by imposing a tax on select financial intangible assets 3
valued at more than $50,000,000; amending RCW 82.32.160, 43.135.034, 4
and 82.32.655; adding a new Title to the Revised Code of Washington 5
to be codified as Title 84A RCW; creating new sections; and 6
prescribing penalties. 7
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:8
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. INTENT. To help meet the state's paramount 9
duty of amply providing every child in the state with an education, 10
the legislature intends to levy a tax of $8 on every $1,000 of the 11
true and fair value of financial intangible assets, such as publicly 12
traded corporate stocks. The legislature intends to exempt certain 13
assets from the tax including, but not limited to, the first 14
$50,000,000 in true and fair value of taxable assets, ownership 15
interests in and stocks of privately held companies, pensions, 529 16
education savings accounts, and retirement accounts. The legislature 17
intends for revenues to be dedicated to the education legacy trust 18
account for the support of common schools, expanding access to higher 19
education, investing in early learning and child care programs, and 20
supporting other educational improvement efforts.21
H-1965.2
HOUSE BILL 2046
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Berg, Street, Santos, Peterson, Fosse, Pollet,
Ryu, Ormsby, Parshley, Macri, Gregerson, Berry, Wylie, Doglio,
Farivar, Reed, Reeves, Hill, Scott, Callan, and Ramel
Read first time 03/24/25. Referred to Committee on Finance.
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The legislature finds that funding common schools, early 1
learning, and higher education programs is central to building a 2
strong Washington. As everyday costs rise, the demand for basic needs 3
rises, and the certainty of federal funds diminishes, it is more 4
important than ever that our tax structure becomes more fair and 5
sustainable. 6
Washington's tax system remains the second most regressive in the 7
nation as it asks those with the least to pay the most as a 8
percentage of their income. Low-income Washingtonians pay at least 9
three times more in state and local taxes as a percentage of their 10
income than the state's highest-income households.11
The legislature finds the levying of this tax necessary for the 12
support of the state government and its existing public institutions.13
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. DEFINITIONS. The definitions in this 14
section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly 15
requires otherwise.16
(1) "Artificial person" means a corporation; limited liability 17
company; limited liability partnership, limited partnership, joint 18
venture, or any other kind of partnership; association; business 19
trust or any other trust; estate; or any other organization.20
(2) "Cash and cash equivalents" means currency and short-term, 21
highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to known 22
amounts of cash. "Cash and cash equivalents" includes money on hand, 23
certificates of deposit, checking account deposits, savings account 24
deposits, money market funds, cryptocurrency, and similar assets.25
(3) "Day" means a calendar day or any portion of a calendar day.26
(4) "Department" means the department of revenue.27
(5) "Domicile" means: 28
(a) The same as in RCW 72.36.035, for purposes of a natural 29
person; and 30
(b) For purposes of an artificial person: 31
(i) For a business, the principal place from which the business 32
is directed or managed; and 33
(ii) For artificial persons other than businesses, the place 34
where the entity was organized. 35
(6) "Financial intangible assets" means cash and cash 36
equivalents; financial investments such as annuities, publicly traded 37
bonds, treasury bills, mutual funds, exchange traded funds, publicly 38
traded stocks, publicly traded options, futures contracts, 39
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commodities contracts, put and call options, certificates of interest 1
in gold and other precious metals or gems, and other similar 2
investments; units of ownership in a subchapter K entity; units of 3
ownership and stock in a subchapter S entity; and other similar 4
intangible assets. 5
(7) "Intangible assets" means both financial intangible assets 6
and nonfinancial intangible assets. 7
(8) "Nonfinancial intangible assets" means all intangible 8
property other than financial intangible assets, such as trademarks, 9
trade names, brand names, patents, copyrights, trade secrets, 10
licenses, permits, core deposits of financial institutions, 11
noncompete agreements, customer lists, patient lists, favorable 12
contracts, favorable financing agreements, reputation, exceptional 13
management, prestige, good name, integrity of a business, private 14
nongovernmental personal service contracts, and private 15
nongovernmental athletic or sports franchises or agreements.16
(9) "Person" means any natural person or artificial person.17
(10) "Subchapter K entity" means a partnership, including a 18
limited partnership, limited liability partnership, limited liability 19
limited partnership, limited liability company, joint venture, or any 20
other entity subject to subchapter K of the internal revenue code, 26 21
U.S.C. Secs. 701 through 761, including a single member limited 22
liability company. 23
(11) "Subchapter S entity" means any entity subject to the 24
internal revenue code, 26 U.S.C. Secs. 1361 through 1379.25
(12) "Tax year" means the calendar year immediately preceding the 26
year in which the tax under this chapter is due and payable to the 27
department. 28
(13) "Taxable worldwide intangible assets" means a person's 29
worldwide intangible assets, excluding the true and fair value of any 30
intangible property exempt from the tax imposed under this chapter.31
(14) "True and fair value" means the fair market value and is the 32
amount of money that a willing buyer would pay to a willing seller 33
for property in an arms-length transaction if both parties were fully 34
informed about all advantages and disadvantages of the property and 35
neither party is acting under a compulsion to enter into the 36
transaction. 37
(15) "Washington resident" or "resident" means any artificial 38
person or natural person who is domiciled in this state at any time 39
during the tax year. 40
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(16)(a) "Worldwide intangible assets" means the true and fair 1
value of all intangible assets, or portion thereof, owned or 2
controlled by a resident. 3
(b) For purposes of this subsection: 4
(i) "Control" means a person possesses, directly or indirectly, 5
alone or with one or more close associates, more than 50 percent of 6
the power to sell or otherwise dispose of intangible assets. However, 7
a person is not considered to possess control over assets if their 8
power to sell or dispose is limited to engaging in such transactions 9
on behalf of the owner and the person has a fiduciary relationship 10
duty to the owner with respect to such assets. 11
(ii) "Close associates" means natural persons who are in close 12
association with another natural person by reason of a family, 13
marital, personal, or business relationship. 14
(iii) "Own" includes both legal and beneficial ownership.15
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. TAX IMPOSED. (1) Beginning January 1, 16
2026, for taxes due in 2027, an intangible assets tax is imposed on 17
each Washington resident. The tax equals $8 per $1,000 of the true 18
and fair value of a resident's taxable worldwide intangible assets.19
(2) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, the tax 20
imposed under this section applies to the true and fair value of a 21
resident's taxable worldwide intangible assets as of December 31st of 22
the tax year. 23
(3) In the case of any individual who dies during a tax year and 24
who is not married or in a state registered domestic partnership on 25
the date of such individual's death: 26
(a) The tax imposed under this section applies to the true and 27
fair value of the individual's taxable worldwide intangible assets as 28
of the date of the individual's death; and 29
(b) The amount of the tax otherwise due under this section must 30
be reduced by an amount determined by: 31
(i) Dividing the amount of tax otherwise due for the entire tax 32
year by the total number of days in the tax year; and33
(ii) Multiplying the amount determined in (b)(i) of this 34
subsection (3) by the number of days remaining in the tax year after 35
the date of the individual's death. 36
(4) The tax imposed in this section does not apply to a resident 37
based on that person's status as a trustee of a trust, unless that 38
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person is also a beneficiary of the trust or holds a general power of 1
appointment over the assets of the trust. 2
(5)(a) If an individual is treated as the owner of any portion of 3
a trust that qualifies as a grantor trust for federal income tax 4
purposes, that individual must be treated as the owner of that 5
property for purposes of the tax imposed in this section to the 6
extent such property includes intangible assets. 7
(b) A grantor of a trust that does not qualify as a grantor trust 8
for federal income tax purposes must nevertheless be treated as the 9
owner of the intangible assets of the trust for purposes of the tax 10
imposed in this section if the grantor's transfer of assets to the 11
trust is treated as an incomplete gift under Title 26 U.S.C. Sec. 12
2511 of the internal revenue code and its accompanying regulations.13
(6) Intangible assets transferred after the effective date of 14
this section by a resident to an individual who is a member of the 15
family of the resident and has not attained the age of 18 must be 16
treated as property of the resident for any calendar year before the 17
year in which such individual attains the age of 18. For purposes of 18
this subsection, "member of the family" has the same meaning as in 19
RCW 83.100.046. 20
(7) All moneys collected from the intangible assets tax must be 21
deposited into the education legacy trust account created in RCW 22
83.100.230. 23
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. WHEN TAXES AND TAX RETURNS ARE DUE. (1)(a) 24
Except as otherwise provided in this section or RCW 82.32.080, each 25
resident owing tax under this chapter must file, on forms prescribed 26
by the department, a return with the department on or before April 27
15th each year reporting the true and fair value of that person's 28
taxable worldwide intangible assets for the immediate preceding 29
calendar year, and such other information the department determines 30
necessary to administer the tax imposed under this chapter.31
(b)(i) Except as provided in (b)(ii) of this subsection (1), 32
returns and all supporting documents must be filed electronically 33
using the department's online tax filing service or other method of 34
electronic reporting as the department may authorize.35
(ii) The department may waive the electronic filing requirement 36
in this subsection for good cause as provided in RCW 82.32.080.37
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(2)(a) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection (2), 1
spouses and state registered domestic partners must jointly file 2
returns required under this section. 3
(b)(i) A spouse or state registered domestic partner may petition 4
the department, on a form and in a format as required by the 5
department, for permission to file a separate return. The department 6
must grant the petition only if it finds that good cause exists for 7
allowing the petitioner to file a separate return. 8
(ii) For purposes of this subsection (2)(b), "good cause" means:9
(A) The petitioner reasonably believes that the nonpetitioning 10
spouse or state registered domestic partner will not cooperate in the 11
filing of a complete and accurate joint return; or12
(B) Any other circumstance that, in the department's judgment, 13
renders the filing of a joint return manifestly unreasonable.14
(3) Each resident required to file a return under this section 15
must, without assessment, notice, or demand, pay any tax due under 16
this chapter to the department on or before the due date of the 17
return, regardless of any filing extension granted by the department. 18
The tax must be paid by electronic funds transfer as defined in RCW 19
82.32.085 or by other forms of electronic payment as may be 20
authorized by the department. The department may waive the electronic 21
payment requirement for good cause as provided in RCW 82.32.080. If 22
any tax due under this chapter is not paid by the due date, interest 23
and penalties as provided in chapter 82.32 RCW apply to the 24
deficiency. 25
(4)(a) If any return due under subsection (1) of this section is 26
not filed with the department by the due date or any extension 27
granted by the department, the department must assess a penalty in 28
the amount of five percent of the tax due for the tax year covered by 29
the return for each month or portion of a month that the return 30
remains unfiled. The total penalty assessed under this subsection may 31
not exceed 25 percent of the tax due for the tax year covered by the 32
delinquent return. The penalty under this subsection is in addition 33
to any penalties assessed for the late payment of any tax due on the 34
return. 35
(b) The department must waive the penalty imposed under this 36
subsection if: 37
(i) The department is persuaded that the person's failure to file 38
the return by the due date was due to circumstances beyond the 39
person's control; or 40
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(ii) The person has not been delinquent in filing any return due 1
under this section during the preceding five calendar years.2
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS. (1) Except as 3
otherwise provided by law and to the extent not inconsistent with the 4
provisions of this chapter, chapter 82.32 RCW applies to the 5
administration of taxes imposed under this chapter.6
(2) The department may adopt any rules it considers useful in 7
administering the tax under this chapter. 8
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. EXEMPTIONS. Exemptions from the tax 9
imposed under section 3 of this act are provided for:10
(1) Up to $50,000,000 of a taxpayer's financial intangible assets 11
not exempt under subsections (2) through (13) of this section. A 12
taxpayer may only exempt an asset, under this subsection (1), in its 13
entirety from the tax imposed under this chapter. The department must 14
disallow the exemption under this subsection (1) of any asset if such 15
exemption would result in a taxpayer exempting any combination of 16
more than $50,000,000 of assets from the tax imposed under this 17
chapter for the tax year. A Washington resident claiming an exemption 18
under this subsection (1) must identify each asset, along with the 19
asset's true and fair value as of December 31st of the tax year, for 20
which they are claiming the exemption in a form and manner prescribed 21
by the department. For purposes of this exemption, both spouses or 22
state registered domestic partners are considered to be one taxpayer. 23
If the department authorizes the filing of separate returns for a tax 24
year, each spouse or state registered domestic partner may exempt up 25
to $25,000,000 of their financial intangible assets under this 26
subsection (1) for that tax year; 27
(2) Cash and cash equivalents; 28
(3) Any of the following financial investments:29
(a) Annuities; 30
(b) Publicly traded options; 31
(c) Futures contracts; 32
(d) Commodities contracts; 33
(e) Put and call options; 34
(f) Certificates of interest in gold and other precious metals or 35
gems; and 36
(g) Other similar investments except publicly traded stocks, 37
publicly traded bonds, mutual funds, or exchange traded funds;38
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(4) Units of ownership in a subchapter K entity;1
(5) Units of ownership and stock in a subchapter S entity;2
(6) Any financial intangible assets held under a retirement 3
savings account under Title 26 U.S.C. Sec. 401 (k) of the internal 4
revenue code, a tax-sheltered annuity or custodial account described 5
in Title 26 U.S.C. Sec. 403 (b) of the internal revenue code, a 6
deferred compensation plan under Title 26 U.S.C. Sec. 457 (b) of the 7
internal revenue code, an individual retirement account or individual 8
retirement annuity described in Title 26 U.S.C. Sec. 408 of the 9
internal revenue code, a Roth individual retirement account described 10
in Title 26 U.S.C. Sec. 408A of the internal revenue code, an 11
employee defined contribution program, an employee defined benefit 12
plan, or a similar retirement savings vehicle, whether foreign or 13
domestic, that penalizes withdrawals until the legal or beneficial 14
owner reaches a certain age; 15
(7) Nonfinancial intangible assets; 16
(8) Worldwide intangible assets of artificial persons. However, 17
the exemption provided in this subsection (8) does not affect the 18
computation of the true and fair value of a natural person's 19
worldwide intangible assets; 20
(9) Any obligations or evidences of debt of the United States and 21
obligations of United States government agencies and corporations 22
established by acts of the congress of the United States to the 23
extent required by federal law to be exempt from taxation by the 24
states, including treasury bills; 25
(10) Any obligations or evidences of debt of the state of 26
Washington and its agencies, instrumentalities, political 27
subdivisions, and municipal corporations, which include municipal 28
bonds; 29
(11) Any stock of the federal reserve bank, the government 30
national mortgage association, the federal national mortgage 31
association, and other corporations and associations established by 32
acts of the congress of the United States; 33
(12) Any property subject to ad valorem taxation under RCW 34
84.36.005; and 35
(13) Any financial intangible assets held under a tuition savings 36
account or prepaid tuition plan, as defined under Title 26 U.S.C. 37
Sec. 529 of the internal revenue code, a Coverdell education savings 38
account, also known as an education individual retirement account, 39
under Title 26 U.S.C. Sec. 530 of the internal revenue code, or a 40
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similar vehicle providing federal tax savings to pay a legal or 1
beneficial owner's qualified education expenses. 2
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. EXEMPTION ON ASSETS WHERE SIMILAR TAX HAS 3
BEEN PAID TO ANOTHER STATE. (1) Financial intangible assets subject 4
to a similar tax legally imposed on the property and paid by the 5
taxpayer to another state for the same tax year are exempt from 6
taxation.7
(2) The exemption under this section is not available if the 8
taxpayer was domiciled in Washington state for a greater amount of 9
time than in the other state during the tax year. 10
(3) For purposes of this section, a similar tax does not include 11
an estate tax, inheritance tax, gift tax, net income tax, business 12
activity tax including a gross earnings tax or gross receipts tax, 13
activity tax, or other tax similar to the aforementioned taxes. A tax 14
on the value of intangible property may be considered to be a similar 15
intangible assets tax even though taxpayers are allowed a deduction 16
for their liabilities in computing the tax. 17
(4) For purposes of this section, "state" has the same meaning as 18
in RCW 82.04.462. 19
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. INNOCENT SPOUSE RELIEF. (1) An individual 20
who is required to jointly file a return under this chapter may 21
petition the department for relief from joint and several liability 22
for an assessment of taxes due under this chapter, including 23
penalties and interest. Relief under this section is available only 24
to the extent that the individual establishes by clear, cogent, and 25
convincing evidence that he or she is entitled to relief under this 26
section. The petition must be made on a form and in a format 27
prescribed by the department.28
(2) An individual is entitled to relief from joint and several 29
liability under this section only if he or she establishes that all 30
of the following criteria have been met: 31
(a) The individual jointly filed a return under this chapter for 32
a taxable year; 33
(b) There is an understatement of tax due on the jointly filed 34
return that is attributable to erroneous reporting of assets by the 35
nonpetitioning current or former spouse or state registered domestic 36
partner; 37
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(c) The individual seeking relief establishes that he or she did 1
not know, and had no reason to know, that there was such an 2
understatement; and 3
(d) Taking into account all the facts and circumstances, it is 4
manifestly inequitable to hold the individual seeking relief liable 5
for the deficiency in tax for such taxable year attributable to such 6
understatement. 7
(3) Any determination under this section must be made without 8
regard to community property laws. 9
(4) If an individual seeking relief under this section 10
establishes that he or she did not know, and had no reason to know, 11
the extent of such understatement, then such individual must be 12
relieved of liability for tax not properly paid, including penalties 13
and interest, for such taxable year to the extent that such liability 14
is attributable to the portion of such understatement of which such 15
individual did not know and had no reason to know.16
(5) An individual seeking relief under this section has the 17
burden of proof with respect to establishing the portion of any 18
deficiency allocable to such individual and the portion solely 19
allocable to the individual's current or former spouse or state 20
registered domestic partner. 21
(6)(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, an 22
individual seeking relief under this section may not seek relief for 23
taxes on intangible assets derived from disqualified assets. For the 24
purposes of this subsection, "disqualified asset" means any asset or 25
right to an asset transferred between spouses or state registered 26
domestic partners required to jointly file a return under this 27
chapter if the principal purpose of the transfer was the avoidance of 28
tax. 29
(b) Except as provided in (c) of this subsection (6), any 30
transfer of assets between two spouses or state registered domestic 31
partners, required to jointly file a return under this chapter, that 32
is made within 12 months prior to December 31st of the tax year for 33
which an individual is seeking relief under this section is presumed 34
to be made with the principle purpose of avoidance of tax.35
(c) The presumption under (b) of this subsection (6) does not 36
apply to any transfer pursuant to a decree of divorce, dissolution of 37
a domestic partnership, separate maintenance action, or a written 38
instrument incident to such action, or to any transfer that an 39
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individual establishes did not have tax avoidance as its principal 1
purpose. 2
(7) If relief is granted under this section, any asset giving 3
rise to a deficiency on a jointly filed return shall be allocated to 4
the individuals filing the return in the same manner as it would have 5
been allocated if the individuals had filed separate returns for the 6
taxable year. No relief granted under this section may reduce the 7
combined tax liability of individuals required to jointly file a 8
return under this chapter in any given tax year. 9
(8) Any relief granted under this section may not result in an 10
increase in the exemption amount under section 6 (1) of this act. 11
Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit individuals 12
required to jointly file a return under this chapter to claim a 13
combined exemption under section 6 (1) of this act exceeding the limit 14
established in section 6(1) of this act. 15
(9) An individual seeking relief under this section must file a 16
petition with the department no later than two years after the date 17
of the department's notification of the deficiency that is the 18
subject of the petition. 19
(10) The department may by rule provide a method or methods for 20
allocating assets between individuals required to jointly file 21
returns under this chapter in cases where one of the individuals is 22
granted relief under this section. The department may also by rule 23
provide substantiation requirements for an individual to establish 24
his or her eligibility for relief under this section.25
(11) An individual seeking relief under this section may petition 26
the department for a review of a denial of such relief pursuant to 27
RCW 82.32.160. 28
Sec. 9. RCW 82.32.160 and 2007 c 111 s 110 are each amended to 29
read as follows: 30
(1) Any person having been issued a notice of additional taxes, 31
delinquent taxes, interest, or penalties assessed by the department, 32
may within ((thirty)) 30 days after the issuance of the original 33
notice of the amount thereof or within the period covered by any 34
extension of the due date thereof granted by the department petition 35
the department in writing for a correction of the amount of the 36
assessment, and a conference for examination and review of the 37
assessment. The petition shall set forth the reasons why the 38
correction should be granted and the amount of the tax, interest, or 39
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penalties, which the petitioner believes to be due. The department 1
shall promptly consider the petition and may grant or deny it. If 2
denied, the petitioner shall be notified by mail, or electronically 3
as provided in RCW 82.32.135, thereof forthwith. If a conference is 4
granted, the department shall fix the time and place therefor and 5
notify the petitioner thereof by mail or electronically as provided 6
in RCW 82.32.135. After the conference the department may make such 7
determination as may appear to it to be just and lawful and shall 8
mail a copy of its determination to the petitioner, or provide a copy 9
of its determination electronically as provided in RCW 82.32.135. If 10
no such petition is filed within the ((thirty)) 30-day period the 11
assessment covered by the notice shall become final.12
(2) The procedures provided for herein shall apply also to a 13
notice denying, in whole or in part, an application for a pollution 14
control tax exemption and credit certificate, with such modifications 15
to such procedures established by departmental rules and regulations 16
as may be necessary to accommodate a claim for exemption or credit.17
(3) The procedures provided in subsection (1) of this section, as 18
modified in this subsection (3), also apply to a notice denying, in 19
whole or in part, a petition for relief from joint and several 20
liability under section 8 of this act. A petition under this 21
subsection (3) is due within 30 days after the date the department 22
issued its denial of relief under section 8 of this act. The petition 23
must set forth the reasons why the department should grant the 24
petitioner's request for relief from joint and several liability. The 25
petition must also set forth the portion of any deficiency allocable 26
to the petitioner and the portion solely allocable to the 27
petitioner's current or former spouse or state registered domestic 28
partner.29
NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. SUBSTANTIAL INTANGIBLE ASSETS TAX 30
VALUATION UNDERSTATEMENT PENALTY IMPOSED. (1) Except as otherwise 31
provided in this section, if any portion of an underpayment of tax 32
due under this chapter is due to a substantial intangible assets tax 33
valuation understatement, there must be added to the tax an amount 34
equal to:35
(a) In the case of any substantial intangible assets tax 36
valuation understatement that is a gross intangible assets tax 37
valuation misstatement, 50 percent of the portion of the underpayment 38
due to the valuation understatement; or 39
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(b) In all other cases, 30 percent of the portion of the 1
underpayment due to the valuation understatement. 2
(2) The penalty imposed under subsection (1) of this section does 3
not apply unless the portion of the underpayment attributable to 4
substantial intangible assets tax valuation understatements for the 5
calendar year exceeds $5,000. 6
(3) The penalty imposed in this section is in addition to any 7
other applicable penalties imposed under this chapter or chapter 8
82.32 RCW on the same tax due, except for the penalty imposed in RCW 9
82.32.090(7). 10
(4) For purposes of this section, the following definitions 11
apply: 12
(a) "Gross intangible assets tax valuation misstatement" means 13
the true and fair value of any intangible assets reported on a return 14
required by this chapter is 40 percent or less of the amount 15
determined to be the correct amount of such true and fair value.16
(b) "Substantial intangible assets tax valuation understatement" 17
means the true and fair value of any intangible assets reported on a 18
return required by this chapter is 65 percent or less of the amount 19
determined to be the correct amount of such true and fair value.20
NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. The legislature 21
intends that any provision of this chapter that is found to be 22
ambiguous by a court of competent jurisdiction or administrative 23
agency be construed in favor of application of the tax, 24
notwithstanding any contrary common law rule of statutory 25
construction.26
NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. TITLE 84 RCW INAPPLICABLE TO INTANGIBLE 27
ASSETS TAX. Title 84 RCW does not apply to this chapter.28
Sec. 13. RCW 43.135.034 and 2023 c 102 s 30 are each amended to 29
read as follows: 30
(1) For the purposes of this chapter, "raises taxes" means any 31
action or combination of actions by the state legislature that 32
increases state tax revenue deposited in any fund, budget, or 33
account, regardless of whether the revenues are deposited into the 34
general fund. 35
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(2) ((The state or any political )) Political subdivisions of the 1
state may not impose any tax on intangible property listed in RCW 2
84.36.070 as that statute exists on January 1, 1993.3
Sec. 14. RCW 82.32.655 and 2010 1st sp.s. c 23 s 201 are each 4
amended to read as follows: 5
(1) It is the legislature's intent to require all taxpayers to 6
pay their fair share of taxes. To accomplish this purpose, it is the 7
legislature's intent to stop transactions or arrangements that are 8
designed to unfairly avoid taxes. 9
(2) The department must disregard, for tax purposes, the tax 10
avoidance transactions or arrangements that are described in 11
subsection (3) of this section. The department must deny the tax 12
benefit that would otherwise result from the tax avoidance 13
transaction or arrangement. In determining whether the department 14
must disregard a transaction or arrangement described under 15
subsection (3) of this section, the department may consider:16
(a) Whether an arrangement or transaction changes in a meaningful 17
way, apart from its tax effects, the economic positions of the 18
participants in the arrangement when considered as a whole;19
(b) Whether substantial nontax reasons exist for entering into an 20
arrangement or transaction; 21
(c) Whether an arrangement or transaction is a reasonable means 22
of accomplishing a substantial nontax purpose; 23
(d) An entities' relative contributions to the work that 24
generates income; 25
(e) The location where work is performed; and 26
(f) Other relevant factors. 27
(3) This section applies only to the following transactions or 28
arrangements: 29
(a) Arrangements that are, in form, a joint venture or similar 30
arrangement between a construction contractor and the owner or 31
developer of a construction project but that are, in substance, 32
substantially guaranteed payments for the purchase of construction 33
services characterized by a failure of the parties' agreement to 34
provide for the contractor to share substantial profits and bear 35
significant risk of loss in the venture; 36
(b) Arrangements through which a taxpayer attempts to avoid tax 37
under chapter 82.04 RCW by disguising income received, or otherwise 38
avoiding tax on income, from a person that is not affiliated with the 39
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taxpayer from business activities that would be taxable in Washington 1
by moving that income to another entity that would not be taxable in 2
Washington; ((and))3
(c) Arrangements through which a taxpayer attempts to avoid tax 4
under chapter 82.08 or 82.12 RCW by engaging in a transaction to 5
disguise its purchase or use of tangible personal property by vesting 6
legal title or other ownership interest in another entity over which 7
the taxpayer exercises control in such a manner as to effectively 8
retain control of the tangible personal property; and9
(d) Arrangements through which a taxpayer attempts to avoid tax 10
under chapter 84A.--- RCW (the new chapter created in section 17 of 11
this act) through intentional deception, such as by concealing assets 12
or evidence of the location of the taxpayer's domicile in this state, 13
by transferring assets prior to December 31st when the taxpayer 14
effectively retained control of the assets, or by effectively 15
converting taxable assets into nontaxable assets prior to December 16
31st when the taxpayer engages in a substantially offsetting 17
transaction. This subsection (3)(d) does not apply to substantial 18
intangible assets tax valuation understatements subject to the 19
penalty in section 10 of this act. 20
(4) In determining whether a transaction or arrangement comes 21
within the scope of subsection (3) of this section, the department is 22
not required to prove a taxpayer's subjective intent in engaging in 23
the transaction or arrangement. 24
(5) The department must adopt rules to assist in determining 25
whether a transaction or arrangement is within the scope of 26
subsection (3) of this section. The adoption of a rule as required 27
under this subsection is not a condition precedent for the 28
department's exercise of the authority provided in this section. Any 29
rules adopted under this section must include examples of 30
transactions that the department will disregard for tax purposes.31
(6) This section does not affect the department's authority to 32
apply any other remedies available under statutory or common law.33
(7) For purposes of this section, "affiliated" means under common 34
control. "Control" means the possession, directly or indirectly, of 35
more than ((fifty)) 50 percent of the power to direct or cause the 36
direction of the management and policies of a person, whether through 37
the ownership of voting shares, by contract, or otherwise.38
p. 15 HB 2046
NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. EXEMPTION FROM CERTAIN LAWS APPLICABLE TO 1
NEW TAX PREFERENCES. RCW 82.32.805 and 82.32.808 do not apply to this 2
act.3
NEW SECTION. Sec. 16. SEVERABILITY CLAUSE. If any provision of 4
this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held 5
invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision 6
to other persons or circumstances is not affected.7
NEW SECTION. Sec. 17. CODIFICATION DIRECTION. Sections 1 8
through 8 and 10 through 12 of this act constitute a new chapter in a 9
new title to be codified as Title 84A RCW.10
NEW SECTION. Sec. 18. SHORT TITLE. This act may be known and 11
cited as the "intangible assets property tax act."12
NEW SECTION. Sec. 19. NECESSITY OF ACT. This act is necessary 13
for the support of the state government and its existing public 14
institutions.15
--- END ---
p. 16 HB 2046