HB 1324, known as the “Washington Rural Development and Distressed Opportunity Zone Act” unanimously passed the House last week.
The bill aims to help create and retain jobs in rural communities and designated opportunity zones. The act establishes an insurance premium tax credit and a B&O tax credit for taxpayers that make a capital contribution to a rural development and opportunity zone fund. The bill requires the Joint Legislative and Audit Review Committee (JLARC) to determine the number of jobs created or retained, and whether that matches or exceeds the predicted job growth after a 6-year period. If JLARC finds that the number of jobs created or retained matches ore exceeds the number of jobs predicted in the six years following enactment, then the tax credit may be continued.
HB 1324 also extends the preferential tax rates to 2056 for persons engaging in the business of extracting timber, extracting timber for hire, manufacturing timber, manufacturing timber for hire, wholesaling timber, or selling standing timber.
The bill was amended on the House floor to limit the qualified opportunity zones to those opportunity zones located in a distressed area as defined in RCW 43.168.020. The amended version of HB 1324 will now move to the Senate.