April Berg — Named as one of the legislators serving on the ERFC.
April Berg — April Berg is repeatedly addressed as 'Madam Chair' during a continuous portion of the meeting, with one brief earlier reference to the ERFC members generally and no substantive change in topic.
Ed Orcutt — Named as one of the legislators serving on the ERFC.
Ed Orcutt — Referenced as someone who gets a lot of this material.
Ed Orcutt — Representative Orcutt raises concerns about the implementation of the new sales tax, using a business owner’s uncertainty as an example. He asks whether businesses that were waiting for an advisory or that failed to collect tax before guidance was issued would receive any grace period or relief, whether they remain subject to the tax regardless, and how many advisories are still unanswered and when they will be completed. The discussion continues with concern about possible penalties and interest relief for affected businesses.
Hunter Abell — The chair welcomed Representative Abell as being online.
Rob Chase — Representative Rob Chase is recognized and asks a budgeting question about what the state should do if expenses exceed revenues—whether to cut programs or borrow to cover the gap. The chair responds by thanking him and praising the question as a good one, referencing it again as part of the ongoing discussion.
Alex Ramel — The chair welcomed Representative Ramel as being online.
Alex Ramel — Representative Ramel asks whether it is realistic for the Department of Revenue or other entities to obtain location data from internet advertising providers, including how ad views are tracked and disclosed. He then follows up with a question about how the location of search engine views is determined and how different scenarios for that data collection or reporting differ. Later remarks in the discussion refer back to Rep. Ramel’s concern about responsibility for and disaggregation of the data, reinforcing the same underlying issue.
Sharon Tomiko Santos — Representative Sharon Tomiko Santos is recognized to begin questioning, thanks the chair, briefly has to restart after a freeze, and then continues with a fact-checking question about whether Washington experiences global economic impacts later than the nation and what that delay means for the forecast. She follows up by asking what the presenter would say about the likely lag in Washington's economic impacts.
Sharon Tomiko Santos — The chair asks whether Representative Sharon Tomiko Santos had her hand up, and Santos responds that it was up for the Costa example.
Steve Ewing — Steve Ewing introduces himself and notes that Chelsea Brinigan will assist with the Q&A portion, then begins outlining his presentation on sales tax law before and after Senate Bill 5814, including service sourcing.
Chelsea Brinigan — Chelsea Brinigan is introduced as helping with the presentation’s Q&A, and she is further recognized for being instrumental in constructing and coordinating the implementation guidance.
SB5814 — The discussion explains Senate Bill 5814 as the dividing line for the law being described, outlining how the rules worked before the bill, how the bill changed implementation, and how certain services were taxed prior to its passage.
SB5814 — The speaker discusses Senate Bill 5814 as the law being implemented, first introducing its provisions and effective date, then explaining outreach and education efforts around implementation. They direct listeners to the bill’s landing page for more information and clarify the law’s scope, noting that it covers live lectures, seminars, workshops, and courses, while distinguishing these from already-taxable prerecorded presentations.
Larry Springer — Representative Springer asked to take a couple of questions and then asked whether the referenced grace period for pre-existing agreements or law was a temporary time-limited period or an exemption. The response clarified that the grace period is six months, and the discussion continued with further explanation and an example illustrating the point.
Larry Springer — Rep. Larry Springer raises questions about implementation and whether the fiscal note will be updated to reflect actual costs now that implementation has occurred. The witness responds directly to his concerns, acknowledging the question and discussing whether a trailer bill or similar process could trigger reassessment of the costs.
Larry Springer — Representative Springer is referenced twice in quick succession in connection with the same point: that implementing the matter required coordination across many work groups.
Sound Accounting — Sound Accounting is used as an example accounting firm that hires software to file taxes for clients. The discussion clarifies that Sound Accounting is considered the user of the accounting software itself and would be responsible for paying sales tax on the software, rather than on the accounting service it provides.
Emerald Net — In a hypothetical example, ABC Company hires Emerald Net in Seattle to test and improve network security, and the discussion continues by explaining that ABC Company and Emerald Net would agree to split sales tax sourcing 50-50 between Tacoma and Lakewood.
Dr. Costa — The transcript uses Dr. Costa as a hypothetical example to explore sales tax treatment for a paid lecture. The discussion covers a Portland cardiologist being paid $200 to speak, whether the honorarium could instead be donated to the Cancer Society, whether the lecture fee is a taxable event, how a refund of sales tax might be handled, how Dr. Costa would know about the obligation or contact the telephone information center, and how reseller arrangements or a gala fundraiser would affect whether sales tax applies and where it is sourced.
DOR — The Department of Revenue is discussed as the agency that might receive a ruling request.
Dr. Koster — Named as a possible party who might request a ruling in the scenario.
Dr. Koster — Referenced as the speaker now presenting via Zoom online.
Columbia Commons — Identified as the likely organization to request a ruling because it would be responsible for collecting the sales tax.
the senior center — The discussion explains that the senior center pays Dr. Costa $200 to speak for a virtual lecture, charges attendees admission, and effectively resells her services as part of the ticket sale. Because of that structure, the center could present a reseller permit to avoid paying sales tax on the speaking fee. The example is framed around the senior center in Vancouver.
Cyndy Jacobsen — Representative Cyndy Jacobsen opens a question about Red Mountain Sellers and the MPU exemption, then continues by asking how the exemption affects use tax obligations and sourcing across zip codes, including whether businesses must pay a portion of the use tax in the affected 135 zip codes.
Dr. Reich — The chair invites Dr. Reich to present a primer on the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council (ERFC).