From the Director: Streamlined Sales Tax Implementation

Communication Efforts

Their first objective is to educate the business community of the change to destination-based sourcing so revenues will be allocated correctly. Department Director Holstrom, business representatives and AWC staff have been traveling throughout the state meeting with Editorial Boards and business journals in hope of securing press attention. These meetings have been very productive and resulted in editorials by most publications – all positive editorials. The Department’s communication efforts also include the following: a speakers bureau made up of 41 speakers, four workshops (more may be scheduled) and vendor fairs designed for business representatives, extensive electronic communication including a pod cast with business representatives, mailings to over 200,000 businesses, research on accounting software options for businesses, a telephone survey of businesses on what they need, facilitated discussions with retailers to secure additional input and then demonstration projects.

The workshops are scheduled as follows:

• September 12 – Spokane
• September 27 – Walla Walla
• October 17 – Burien/SeaTac
• November 8 – Vancouver

For more information, visit the workshops and education section on the DOR website at www.dor.wa.gov.

Local Government Mitigation

DOR has also begun their work on local government mitigation. The advisory committee on SST mitigation met for the first time on August 15. The group includes representation from negatively and positively impacted cities, counties, and transits, as well as other legislative and state stakeholders. Cities are represented by Kent Finance Director Robert Nachlinger, Federal Way Assistant City Manager Iwen Wang, and Seattle Assistant Finance Director Glen Lee. It is anticipated that the committee will meet monthly through the end of the year to advise the Department of Revenue on technical issues related to mitigation effective July 2008. It will continue to meet at least quarterly through 2010. DOR will be creating a listserv to communicate information about the work of the advisory committee in the near future.

To assist the city representatives in identifying city issues related to mitigation and to provide an additional means of communication regarding SST mitigation, AWC has formed a city workgroup, which will meet via conference call prior to each of the DOR mitigation meetings. If your city is interested in participating in future calls and/or would like to be added to the DOR listserv, please contact Sheila Gall at sheilag@awcnet.org.

Workshops for Local Governments

In addition to a number of online resources on DOR’s website, a number of education opportunities specifically targeted for local governments are scheduled in the near future. The Department of Revenue will outline local government issues related to SST and mitigation during the following events:

• August 23 – AWC & WFOA’s Introduction to Municipal Budgeting workshop in Lynnwood
• August 30 – WFOA’s Streamlined Sales Tax workshop in Federal Way
• September 20 – WFOA’s Annual Conference in Kennewick

For more information, see the training section on AWC’s website: www.awcnet.org or WFOA’s website at www.wfoa.org.

2008 Budget Preparation

Cities preparing for their 2008 budgets should be aware of the expected impact of SST sourcing changes on their jurisdiction, which do go into effect July 1, 2008. Negatively impacted jurisdictions should be prepared for the lag in quarterly mitigation distributions due to the timing and availability of data for the first distribution of mitigation in December 2008.

Passage of SST legislation with full mitigation was a significant tax policy change for cities. AWC worked hard to secure this legislation and we will work just as hard to ensure correct implementation and distribution of mitigation. We will also regularly update you on the progress of SST. Please fee free to contact me, Jim Justin, jimj@awcnet.org, or Sheila Gall, sheilag@awcnet.org, if you have any questions on this issue.

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