In July, the Washington Department of Revenue (DOR) released information on a variety of tax incentive programs offered by the state. These incentives include deferrals, reduced business and occupation (B&O) rates, exemptions, and tax credits. The available programs apply to numerous industries from aerospace to warehousing and range in specificity from highly targeted programs, such as the reduced B&O tax rate for manufacturing wood biomass fuel, to broadly available programs like the Commute Trip Reduction Program (a B&O tax/public utility credit).

Geffen Mesher wants to remind businesses expanding operations into Washington State or becoming more active in the state to review the available incentives in case they may be relevant to their situation. The incentive program website lists incentives by industry type and provides a list of rural counties along with links to community empowerment zones (CEZs) and international service districts.

Businesses claiming an incentive must file an Annual Tax Performance Report (previously called the Annual Survey and Annual Report) by May 31 of each year. Businesses filing late reports will be billed for 35 to 50 percent of the incentive claimed.

Our state and local tax (SALT) professionals are available to assist if you have questions about taking advantage of these tax incentives.  Please contact our SALT Team at SALT@GMCO.com.