Webinar to examine WA state’s new sales tax on services
OLYMPIA – The Association of Washington Business in partnership with the Washington Department of Revenue will hold a one-hour seminar on Tuesday, Nov. 4, to share interim guidance on a new state sales tax on services.
Participants can register for the free webinar, which is scheduled from 10-11 a.m.
Max Martin, AWB’s lead on tax and fiscal policy, will talk with a trio of Revenue department tax experts: information specialist Jessica Smith, policy specialist Chelsea Brenegan, and policy manager Brent Madison.
They will discuss what employers can expect from the new tax package covered by ESSB 5814, a wide-ranging bill that was narrowly passed this spring by the Democratically controlled state legislature and signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson.
Researchers and business operators say there are a number of unanswered questions about the measure, which took effect Oct. 1, and how it applies to collection of sales and retail B&O taxes for many services.
Those include information technology, website design, investigation and security services, temporary staffing, live presentations, continuing education courses and workshops, digital automated services, some forms of commercial advertising, and more.
The bill also repeals certain sales tax exemptions, requires certain large businesses to make a “one-time prepayment of state sales tax collections,” and expands the definition of tobacco products so a tax would apply to products containing nicotine whether derived from tobacco or synthetic creation.
The Department of Revenue has posted an initial summary page on its website.
Faced with a multi-billion-dollar revenue shortfall going into the 2025 legislative session, bill sponsors said the measure will provide funding for “public schools, health care, and social services that help Washingtonians to succeed and thrive.”
According to a fiscal note by the state Office of Financial Management, ESSB 5814 expects to collect $1.2 billion in biennial years 2025-27 and $1.5 billion in years 2027-29. But the summary also cites multiple variables which could affect that forecast.
Additional analysis is available online from the Washington Research Council and Municipal Research and Services Center.
