Bill > HB1182

This bill provides a tax exemption for the first 20,000 gallons of wine or cider sold by a winery in Washington. Specifically, it amends the existing law (RCW 66.24.210) to exempt the first 20,000 gallons of a winery's wine or cider sales from certain taxes, while retaining the existing taxes for any sales above that amount. The bill also includes a tax preference performance statement, which sets out the legislative intent to promote the development of small wineries and directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee to evaluate the impact of the tax exemption by 2028 and 2033. The goal is to assist small wineries that have faced various challenges in recent years, and the legislature intends to extend the tax exemption if it helps decrease the number of small wineries going out of business, increase the number of small wineries growing production, or increase sales and use tax collected from wineries.