Washington Tax Decisions

Telecommunications company protests retail sales tax imposed on its leases of dark fiber on the grounds that (i) they are not “competitive telephone services” under RCW 82.04.065; or, alternatively, (ii) they are leases of real property not subject to retail sales tax. The petition is denied as to these issues. . . .

A taxpayer protests the Audit Division (Audit) of the Department of Revenue’s (Department) revisions to an Audit assessment to correct a mathematical error found in the audit workbook. Because the revised assessment was less than the amount originally assessed, we conclude Audit was not barred from correcting the error. We deny the petition.

[Taxpayer] appeals the assessment of real estate excise tax (REET) on the quitclaim transfer of a partial interest in real property. Taxpayer contends the transfer qualifies for the gift exemption. Taxpayer’s petition is denied.

Restaurants protest assessment of retail sales tax on . . . purchases of charcoal used to cook meat and vegetables . . . The petition is denied in part, granted in part, and remanded in part.

Following the federal government’s seizure of cigarettes from a storage facility in Washington, the Department of Revenue (Department) assessed Taxpayer cigarette tax, and a ten dollar per pack penalty on those cigarettes. Taxpayer objects to the assessment. We deny the petition.

A collector of rare coins appeals a tax ruling that coins purchased for their value as collector items are subject to retail sales tax on the selling price that exceeds the face value of the currency. The coin collector asserts that the sales of rare coins are sales of monetized bullion and exempt from retail sales tax pursuant to RCW 82.04.062 and WAC 458-20-248. Petition granted.

A Washington contractor challenges an audit assessment, arguing that retail sales tax was not due on construction it performed for [a State Institution] and a nonprofit charitable organization. It further asserts that it is entitled to a credit for amounts it paid under another business entity’s Uniform Business Identifier (UBI), and additionally requests a waiver of interest and penalties on the assessment. Taxpayer’s petition is denied.