American Red Cross 3/9/2022 - Laserfiche WebLink

WAC 458-20-190 Sales to and by the United States and certain en- tities created by the United States—Doing business on federal reser- vations—Sales to foreign governments. (1) Introduction. Federal law prohibits states from directly imposing taxes on the United States. Persons doing business with the United States, however, are subject to the taxes imposed by the state of Washington, unless specifically ex- empt. This rule explains the tax reporting responsibilities of persons making sales to the United States and to foreign governments. The rule also explains the tax reporting responsibilities of persons engaging in business activities within federal reservations and cleaning up ra- dioactive waste and other by-products of weapons production for the United States. (a) Other rules that may be relevant. (i) WAC 458-20-17001 Government contracting—Construction, in- stallations, or improvements to government real property. (ii) WAC 458-20-171 Building, repairing or improving streets, roads, etc., which are owned by a municipal corporation or political subdivision of the state or by the United States and which are used primarily for foot or vehicular traffic. (iii) WAC 458-20-178 Use tax and the use of tangible personal property. (iv) WAC 458-20-186 Tax on cigarettes. (b) Examples. This rule provides examples that identify a number of facts and then state a conclusion. These examples should be used only as a general guide. The tax results of other situations must be determined after a review of all the facts and circumstances. (2) "United States" defined. (a) For the purposes of this rule, the term "United States" means the federal government, including the executive, legislative, and ju- dicial branches, its departments, and federal entities exempt from state or local taxation by specific federal statutory exemption. The mere fact that an entity is a federal entity, such as an in- strumentality or a federal corporation, does not mean that the entity is immune from tax. The taxability of a federal entity and whether the entity is required to collect and remit retail sales/use tax depends on the benefits and immunities conferred on it by Congress. Thus, to determine the current taxable status of federal entities, the relevantportion of the federal law should be examined. (b) "United States" does not include entities associated with but not a part of the United States, such as the National Guard (an in- strumentality of the state of Washington) . Nor does it include enti- ties contracting with the United States government to administer its programs. (3) Prohibition against taxing the United States. The state of Washington is prohibited from imposing taxes directly on the United States. (a) This prohibition applies to taxes imposed for the privilege of engaging in business such as business and occupation (B&O) (chapter 82.04 RCW) and public utility (chapter 82.16 RCW) taxes. It also applies to taxes imposed on a buyer or user of goods or services including, but not limited to, the: (i) State and local retail sales and car rental taxes (chapters 82.08 and 82.14 RCW) ; (ii) State and local use tax (chapters 82.12 and 82.14 RCW) ; (iii) Solid waste collection tax (chapter 82.18 RCW) ; and (iv) Local government taxes such as the special hotel/motel (chapter 67.28 RCW) and convention and trade center (chapter 67.40RCW) taxes. (b) The state is also prohibited from requiring the United States to collect taxes imposed on the buyer (e.g., the retail sales tax) as an agent for the state. However, buyers must pay use tax on retail purchases from the United States, unless specifically exempt by law. (C) In addition, federal law exempts certain nongovernmental en- tities from state taxes (for which Congress has given specific federal statutory tax exemptions) . These specific federal statutory exemptions may not be absolute and may be limited to specific activities of an entity. Illk (d) The American Red Cross is an instrumentality of the United States. As a federal corporation providing aid and relief, it is ex- empt from retail sales, use, and B&O taxes under state law. RCW 82.08.0258, 82.12.0259, and 82.04.380. The Red Cross provides some victims of natural disasters assis- tance by check, voucher, and/or direct deposits to the individuals' personal bank accounts. Assistance may also be provided with "client assistance cards" that may be used by the recipients at locations where bankcards are accepted or at automated teller machines (ATM) . The retail sales tax treatment of purchases made using these Certified on 10/25/2019 WAC 458-20-190 Page 1