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  3. SHB 1406 - Local State-shared Tax For Affordable And Supportive Housing
  4. Affordable Housing Q&A

Affordable housing Q&A

  1. What does instate (Sec. 1 (1) (e)), mean when referring to a QLT?

Instate means a QLT has been authorized; i.e., that all actions necessary to levy the tax have been met, including notification to the department.

  1. Can jurisdictions write an ordinance that allows for taking the maximum allowable rate?

Yes.

  1. What are allowable uses of revenue?

Depending on the population of the local jurisdiction, funds from this tax must be used for the following:

  • acquisition, rehabilitation or construction of affordable housing,
  • funding the operations and maintenance costs of new units or affordable or supportive housing, or
  • provide rental assistance to tenants

The Department of Commerce is required to provide an annual report to the Legislature on the collection and use of revenues.

  1. The max rate for the city and county is at 0.0073% until the city levies a qualifying tax (RCW 82.14.540(1)(2)(c)(i)(A)), and would raise that to 0.0146% once the QLT is levied (RCW 82.14.540(1)(2)(c)(i)(B)). Would the 30-day notice requirement in RCW 82.14.055(2) allow the department adequate time to distribute the second share of 0.0073% from the county to the city?

Yes, the 30-day notice requirement in RCW 82.14.055(2) is sufficient.

  1. Is a county required to impose a QLT in order to impose the tax?

No. A county is not required to impose a QLT in order to impose the tax. Furthermore, the tax rate the county is authorized to impose is not affected by whether or not they impose a QLT.

  1. Can locals adopt both a resolution of intent to adopt legislation to authorize max capacity of the tax and legislation to authorize max capacity in the same document?

No. The resolution of intent and legislation (ordinance) must be adopted independently; however, they can be adopted simultaneously.

  1. Can the resolution of intent be adopted before the effective date of the bill?

Yes.

  1. ​If a city imposes the tax before the county, can the county include the city’s taxable retail sales for purposes of calculating the cap distribution?

No. If the city imposes the tax before a county, the city’s taxable retail sales are not included in the cap calculation for the county.

  1. Is a city’s cap calculation affected if the county imposes the tax first?

No. A city’s cap is calculated by its taxable retail sales in state fiscal year 2019, multiplied by the appropriate rate, regardless of whether it imposes the tax before or after the county.

  1. For purposes of calculating the cap, what are the taxable retail sales based on?

The cap calculation is based on the taxable retail sales reported in fiscal year 2019 multiplied by the appropriate rate. It does not include the value of purchases subject to the retail sales or use tax.

  1. If a county imposes the tax before any city within the county, will the calculation of the county’s cap include taxable retail sales in the entire county?

Yes. This applies even in cases where the county will not receive tax revenue. For example, if a county and a city both impose the tax, but the county imposes the tax before the city, and that city also has a QLT, then the city may impose the tax at the 0.0146% rate but the county will not receive new tax revenue within that city.

  1. If a city imposes a QLT that expires or is no longer collected during the twenty year term of the tax (for example a six year levy lid lift), will the department adjust the respective tax rates for the city and county when the QLT is expires or is no longer collected?

Generally, the rate of the new state-shared tax should be adjusted when the city’s QLT expires or is no longer collected. During the first year, a city’s rate will not change when it stops levying a QLT if the city is in a non-participating county.