Washington Tax Decisions

Taxpayer petitions the Washington Department of Revenue (Department) to reverse the decision of the Department’s Taxpayer Account Administration (TAA) denying Taxpayer a business and occupation (B&O) tax refund for the difference between the wholesaling B&O tax rate it paid for years 2008 and 2009 and the preferential aerospace manufacturer’s rate. Taxpayer’s petition for refund is denied.

A Washington business that leases charter vessels for use both within and outside of Washington appeals an assessment of retail sales tax on its sales of leased charter vessels, and seeks waiver of the assessment based on its lack of awareness of the requirement that it source those sales to the Washington location where the charter vessels are received by the purchaser. The taxpayer’s petition is denied.

Indoor playground operator protests retail sales tax and retailing business and occupation tax on the grounds that it does not provide amusement and recreation services. The petition is denied.

Taxpayer asks for a refund of tax, interest, and penalties paid following the Department of Revenue’s (Department) audit of Taxpayer’s business records and state excise tax returns. Taxpayer’s petition for refund is denied.

Taxpayer, a yacht broker from California, is in the business of manufacturing and selling seagoing vessels. Taxpayer sold a yacht to a Washington resident and delivered the yacht to the buyer three miles off the coast of Port Townsend, Washington at or near coordinates N 48° 13’ 36” W 122° 3’ 12”. Taxpayer disputes the retail sales tax assessed against it by the Department of Revenue’s Audit Division, claiming that it sold the yacht outside the borders of the State of Washington. We affirm the assessment and deny the Taxpayer’s petition.

A farm that grows potatoes seeks a retail sales tax and use tax exemption for replacement parts and labor for equipment in its cleaning shed and for its forklifts. We deny the petition.

A taxpayer petitions for reconsideration of a determination holding that the department can assess additional use tax on motor vehicles when the value of the vehicles recorded in the taxpayer’s books, records, and federal depreciation schedules was higher than the value reported to the Department of Licensing when the vehicles were licensed. Taxpayer’s petition for reconsideration is denied.

Taxpayer that licenses copyrighted television programs to cable companies, protests Audit’s reclassification of advertising income from the radio or television broadcasting classification to the service and other business activities classification. We conclude the taxpayer is not a television broadcaster and deny the petition.

A person who digitally manipulates photographs for commercial customers to be used for online viewing protests the Department of Revenue’s Taxpayer Account Administration Division’s instructions that he must charge his customers retail sales tax. We conclude that Taxpayer is providing a retail activity taxable under the retailing classification of the B&O tax, but is not required to charge and collect retail sales tax for sales when customers provide Digital Products and Remote Access Software Exemption Certificates.

A Washington real estate broker and property manager (Taxpayer) that provides maintenance services for others’ property appeals the assessment of service and other activities business and occupation (B&O) tax on grounds that the measure of tax includes commissions, reimbursements from its associates for business expenses, and income that it claims was duplicated in general ledgers. Taxpayer’s petition is denied

A contracting company argues that it was not a successor because it purchased its predecessor’s assets from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). We uphold the Notice of Successorship.

Taxpayer appeals the assessment of the evasion penalty assessed as a result of the Washington Department of Revenue’s (Department) audit of his Washington business activity. Taxpayer’s petition is denied.

Taxpayers petition for correction of an assessment in which the Department of Revenue (Department) reclassified sales from the Wholesaling Business & Occupation (B&O) tax classification to the Retailing B&O tax classification and assessed retail sales tax. Taxpayers’ petition is denied.

The taxpayer appeals the denial of a petition for refund of real estate excise tax (REET), asserting that the selling price for measuring REET should be reduced to reflect the cash equivalency value of the amount of a promissory note given as partial consideration for the transfer. Appeal petition denied.

Health care providers appeal the denials of their requests for refund of service and other activities business and occupation (B&O) tax paid on receipts from insurance carriers who participate in the Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB), Medicare Advantage (MA), and TRICARE, federal health insurance programs, asserting the tax is preempted by federal law. The taxpayers’ petitions are denied.