House passes Ranker bill to maintain sales tax for Canadian visitors

From the Senate Democratic Office

The House of Representatives today approved legislation that would continue the collection of a sales tax from Canadians shopping in Washington. Senator Kevin Ranker, D-San Juan Island, sponsored Senate Bill 5763 to ensure fairness for Whatcom County residents.

Last summer British Columbia changed its sales tax to effectively combine Canada’s federal goods and services tax and B.C.’s regional provincial sales tax into a single value-added tax on purchases. The change made Canadian shoppers of certain states and provinces without sales tax eligible for a sales-tax exemption.

As much as 10 percent of the sales tax collected in Bellingham is from Canadian residents. Significant amounts of revenue would be lost as a result. Bellingham and Whatcom County sued the state Department of Revenue, and a Skagit County judge issued a restraining order on the exemption.

Said Ranker, “Lawmakers will be faced with many tough choices this session – but this isn’t one of them. At a time when state and local governments are doing more with less than ever before, this choice is an easy one. This bill ensures fairness for Whatcom County residents and ensures that visitors contribute to the infrastructure and fabric of the communities that they frequent. For Whatcom County, passage could spell hundreds of thousands in foregone revenue invested back into the community and back into critical public services.”

“I’m grateful for the support of both cities and counties in passing this critical legislation. This is a big victory for Whatcom County.” Said Ranker.

The bill now heads to the Governor’s Office for executive approval.