Washington Tax Decision (WTD) Publication Comment Pilot Program

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When a taxpayer seeks review of a tax assessment or tax refund denial, the Department issues a determination on that review to that specific taxpayer. The Department publishes some of these determinations as Washington Tax Decisions (WTD) under RCW 82.32.410. Determinations can be recommended for publication by anyone, both in and outside of the Department. Once recommended, the proposed WTD goes through an internal Department review process. It is also sanitized to remove any language that could identify who the taxpayer is in the WTD.

The Department is starting this pilot program to allow stakeholders to comment on proposed WTDs before they are published. The proposed WTDs provided below have already been sanitized. After receiving feedback from you, the Department will decide whether to publish the proposed WTD or make edits to it before publishing. To receive notification on WTD Publication Comment activity, sign up for email or text notifications.

Please note this is a pilot program, and the Department may decide to end it if we are not receiving comments or if the comments provided do not help improve the quality of the WTDs published.

Examples of edits/comments we are looking for:

We welcome comments and proposed edits you believe will make the proposed WTD a better final product. Here are examples of comments or proposed edits that are helpful:

Information you believe would still identify the taxpayer and needs further sanitization.
Edits you believe improve the legal accuracy of the proposed WTD. We cannot make substantial edits so please limit your edits to what is essential to make the proposed WTD clearer.
Removing discussion you think is irrelevant or distracts from the analysis that has more publication value.
If you believe the proposed WTD reaches the incorrect result, please explain why and provide legal authority for your recommendation.
Proposing a footnote to clarify a point that could be confusing to taxpayers who will rely on the WTD.

Comments and edits we ask that you not provide:

Edits that effectively change the outcome of the proposed WTD.
Edits that alter key holdings in the proposed WTD. If you want to propose edits that alter a holding in the proposed WTD, consider objecting to publication of the proposed WTD and explaining why this is necessary.
If you are aware of the taxpayer to whom the proposed WTD was issued, please provide comments that avoid revealing who that taxpayer is as these comments are disclosable for public records purposes.
Please avoid substantial edits to the proposed WTD. If you feel those edits are necessary, explain why.

Proposed WTDs for January 10, 2025

Draft Det. No. 22-0196: Brief Description
A taxpayer disputes the assessment of Real Estate Excise Tax (REET) on its sale of a certain [real] property. The Department assessed REET on the grounds that the sale was a nominal sale and the sale price did not reflect the fair market value. We grant the petition.
Draft WTD
View draft
Draft Det. No. 22-0133: Brief Description
A data center owner disputes the assessment of business and occupation tax (B&O) on gross income it received from its provision of data center space to certain customers, arguing that the income is derived from the rental of real property and is therefore exempt from B&O tax. We grant the petition in part and deny it in part, and remand the matter to the audit division for adjustments.
Draft WTD
View draft
Draft Det. No. 22-0069: Brief Description
A seller of two separate real properties under a single transaction to a single buyer disputes the Department’s assessment of real estate excise tax (REET) on the transaction, asserting that the consideration it received from the buyer under the transaction represented the true and fair value of the real properties. The seller objects to the Department’s use of the county assessed value as the selling price of the real property at the time of sale. We grant the petition.
Draft WTD
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Draft Det. No. 22-0170: Brief Description
A . . . retailer petitions for correction of an assessment of retail sales tax and retailing business and occupation (B&O) tax on grounds that the measure incorrectly includes estimated over and short cash register receipts determined using a projection based on a sample of Daily Statistics Reports (DSTATs). We deny the petition.
Draft WTD
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Draft Det. No. 22-0105: Brief Description
A taxpayer that operates a television station that is licensed and regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) distributes content through over-the-air broadcasts and via retransmission by third-party multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs), such as cable operators and direct-to-home broadcast satellite providers. The taxpayer asserts that it engages in television broadcasting with regard to its retransmission to MVPDs, including its own locally-produced content, and is eligible for the preferential business and occupation (B&O) tax rate available for radio and television broadcasting. We deny the petition.
Draft WTD
View draft

Public comment period

The Department requests comments and stakeholder feedback related to these proposed WTDs no later than February 10, 2025. After a review of the feedback, if any, the Department will consider the appropriate next steps in the process.