Washington Tax Decisions

Private golf and country club protests the exclusion of six nine-hole golf courses from its market comparison for purposes of determining the taxable amount of its membership fees and dues under the actual usage of facilities method pursuant to WAC 458-20-183 and ETA 3080.2009. The petition is granted in part and denied in part.

Out-of-state [companies protest] the imposition of [late payment of assessment penalties] on the grounds that such late [payments were] the result of employee fraud. The [petitions are] denied.

A taxpayer seeks waiver of an assessment of B&O tax issued in the amount of the taxpayer’s previously asserted credit for R&D spending after the taxpayer failed to timely file the required annual survey. The taxpayer claims the late survey filing was the result of [its] employee[‘s] mistake. The taxpayer’s petition is denied.

A taxpayer alleges she was a victim of embezzlement and petitions for a correction of assessment based upon the wrongful acts of her employee. Taxpayer’s petition is denied.

Tennis club petitions for correction of tax ruling in which the Department ruled that mandatory member assessments used to make capital improvements are subject to retail sales tax and retailing B&O tax. We revise the ruling. A portion of the assessments paid by members is deductible as bona fide dues in accordance with the tennis club’s prior determination, Det. No. 07-0254, [28 WTD 1 (2009)].

The owner of a mobile home park protests the Department denial of a refund request based on the Department’s finding that Taxpayer did not qualify as a “financial business” and, therefore, could not deduct from the measure of its tax liability certain amounts it received from interest on mortgage loans. Taxpayer argued that it was a “financial business” because it was the lender on such loans similar to other types of financial businesses. We deny the petition.

A logger protests a use tax and/or deferred sales tax assessment on his purchase of a feller-buncher used to cut trees. Because the logger did not use the feller-buncher in a manufacturing operation, we deny the petition.

A Washington company that provides communication services, and designs voice and data networks, appeals a penalty for misuse of its reseller permit. Some of the company’s vendors delivered products to the company at out-of-state locations, and did not charge the company sales tax, while others did not charge sales tax after they obtained the company’s reseller permit. We uphold the penalty assessed on sales of deliveries into Washington from vendors that may have obtained the company’s reseller permit. However, the penalty was not applicable to products the company picked up at out-of-state locations, and later brought into Washington. We grant the petition in part, deny it in part, and remand the assessment for adjustment.