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User Not Found | Feb 24, 2017
Both city business license and tax proposals, <a href="http://app.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=2005&year=2017" target="_blank"><strong>HB 2005</strong></a> and <a href="http://app.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=5777&year=2017" target="_blank"><strong>SSB 5777</strong></a> have moved out of their respective committees.
Both city business license and tax proposals, HB 2005 and SSB 5777 have moved out of their respective committees. These bills implement some of the recommendations of the 2016 task force to increase the number of cities in the state’s Business Licensing Service (BLS), but adopt different approaches to exemptions for hardship and the alternative to use the city-operated FileLocal tax and licensing system. Both bills include a requirement that cities develop and implement a licensing threshold, and create a work group of cities and businesses to draft changes to the apportionment of service income under RCW 35.102.130.
HB 2005 moved out of committee last week, with the expectation that there will be further changes to the bill language when the bill moves to the floor in the next couple of weeks. We have been actively negotiating with the bill sponsors and stakeholders on potential amendments to ensure legislation moves forward with implementing the task force recommendations in a way that protects local legislative decisions and authority.