Grays Harbor County Commissioners consider Admissions Tax
Grays Harbor County Commissioners
The Grays Harbor County Commissioners yesterday looked at the idea of reinstating the county’s Admissions Tax. The Revised Code of Washington state says that counties can charge up to 5% tax on an admission charge, and requires the business to collect it similar to sales tax, and pay the county treasurer. So why does the county want their Auditor looking into it, instead of their Treasurer? Treasurer Ron Strabbing said “I started looking into it and the more I looked, I don’t see where we’re going to get much off of this. I think the administration is going to cost more than [it makes]. The only place I can see that it’s going to be effective is the fairgrounds.”
The County Ordinance, adopted in 1943 has not been enforced since before Strabbing, and he didn’t feel it was worth the administration of another tax to enforce it. Strabbing also noted that the county finance department couldn’t find records of the tax being collected – except maybe in the 70’s, and that it’s possible the Commissioners then voted to stop collecting it. Although no records can be found making a change in the ordinance, it seems the tax has not been collected for decades.
County Auditor Vern Spatz expressed similar concerns at their meeting on Monday. “If the intent is to start collecting the admissions tax as of January, I have some concerns I’d like to share with the board. I have not had time enough to really determine what the effect would be on my office. There is currently no estimates of revenues, nor are there estimates of costs involved.
The tax excludes schools and some public facilities like the Convention Center in Ocean Shores, they also couldn’t apply the tax to cities that already collect an admissions tax, like Aberdeen. A question was asked as to whether or not the tax would apply to recent “Access fees” imposed on Weyerhaeuser property in the county. The Commissioners yesterday postponed a decision until their December 15th meeting
