Tax Exemption Continuation

Tax Exemption Continuation

I’m Lacy Gray with Washington Ag Today.

In 2008 the legislature passed a bill providing three temporary exemptions for honey beekeepers - income received by the wholesale sale of honey bee products by beekeepers who do not otherwise qualify as a farmer are exempt from B&O tax, income received from the sale of bee pollination services to a farmer by a beekeeper is exempt from B&O, and a sales and use tax exemption for the honey bees themselves sold to beekeepers is exempt from sales tax. That bill is set to expire in July of this year. Proposed HB 1558, would have removed the expiration date indefinitely, and provide an additional exemption from the sales tax with a certificate. Substitute HB 1558 extends the expiration date for these three exemptions to July 1, 2016. It also creates a new sales and use tax exemption for the purchase of honey bee food by an eligible beekeeper, establishes a honey bee workgroup to address challenges to the industry and provide a detailed report to the Legislature by the end of 2013, including information on the status of the colony collapse disorder. Tom Davis, with the Washington Farm Bureau, explains why this should be considered an important bill.

DAVIS: The ag industry in Washington makes up 13% of the state economy, and a lot of that we could not do without a robust beekeeper industry that helps - especially when it comes to tree fruit, berries, seed crops, and other crops as well.

The House Finance Committee passed the proposal last week. Now the House Rules Committee will determine if and when the bill receives a vote by the full House chamber.

I’m Lacy Gray and that’s Washington Ag Today on the Ag Information Network.