OLYMPIA – House Finance Chair Rep. Kristine Lytton (D – Anacortes) wants to make it easier for Washington businesses to file their B&O taxes.
Today the Finance Committee will hear a bipartisan Lytton bill to direct the state Department of Revenue to spend the next year working on a plan to build an online tax and licensing portal that could simplify the process of paying city B&O taxes.
Currently, businesses that operate in different cities have to file their local B&O taxes separately — filing individually to each city and separately to the state. The process is time-consuming, and with separate filing fees, potentially costly. Under Lytton’s bill (HB 2959), DOR will develop a plan to build an online portal where businesses could pay all of their B&O taxes in one place, provided that the cities in which they operate opt-in to the service. Businesses could also take care of all their licensing in one place, as well.
Several of Washington’s largest cities have already partnered to work on a similar project for businesses in those cities. An online state portal would complement that work, providing an option for businesses with locations outside of those large cities.
“We want to encourage Washington businesses to expand to other cities and regions, but frankly the burdensome process of keeping track of all your individual tax filings might be enough to discourage the single parent who is trying to be an entrepreneur and raise a family at the same time,” Lytton said. “This one-stop destination will give cities the option to work together with the state and simplify the process of licensing and paying taxes for Washington businesses large and small.”
Lytton’s bill, which is co-sponsored by the committee’s ranking minority member, is scheduled for a hearing today, Feb. 2 at 3 p.m.