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JLARC: Precious-metals tax preferences grew sharply; impact on competitiveness unclear
Summary
JLARC found combined B&O and sales-and-use tax preferences for precious metals and monetized bullion produced large increases in reported savings between 2017 and 2023, with a growing share claimed by out-of-state sellers; the Legislature should define objectives and metrics if preferences continue.
The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee presented a review of two tax preferences—an exclusion from business-and-occupation tax and a sales-and-use tax exclusion—covering precious metals and monetized bullion, and found large increases in reported beneficiary savings but uncertainty about whether the preferences meet any stated policy objective.
Pete Van Moorsil, JLARC staff, said the preferences date to 1985 and the Legislature did not state an objective at enactment; JLARC inferred the goal was to treat sales of precious metals like other investments to help Washington businesses…
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