The House Finance Committee voted to report House Bill 2,084 with a due pass recommendation after considering multiple amendments that restored or clarified tax treatment for specific businesses. The bill before the committee would eliminate certain tax preferences including the B&O exemption for sales of precious metals and bullion, impose B&O tax on receipts from rental of self-storage units, and remove the preferential B&O rate for warehousing and reselling prescription drugs.

Committee members debated amendments that would restore the precious-metals exemption, remove the storage-unit B&O tax provision, preserve the preferential rate for prescription-drug wholesalers, clarify placement of storage-unit language under services and other activities in the RCW, and repeal the credit-union exemption as proposed in the bill. Representative Chase offered an amendment to restore the B&O exemption for precious metals and bullion, saying many small coin and bullion dealers rely on the exemption; that amendment was not adopted. Representative Jacobson moved an amendment to remove the new tax on self-storage units, arguing those units are used by people of limited means; that amendment was not adopted. Other amendments that clarified statutory placement and retained certain exceptions were adopted.

Supporters of removing preferences argued that longstanding exemptions are preferential tax treatment not justified by current policy; opponents argued the exemptions reflect the economic reality of specific businesses and that removing them could push business across state lines or increase costs for consumers. The committee roll call recorded 10 ayes and 5 nays; staff announced the tally as 10 ayes, 5 nays, 0 excused. The committee incorporated several adopted amendments into the substitute and reported the bill to the next stage with a due pass recommendation.