82.32.495 - Liability of mobile telecommunications service provider if no database provided.

Liability of mobile telecommunications service provider if no database provided.

(1) If neither the department nor the designated database provider provides an electronic database under RCW 82.32.490, a mobile telecommunications service provider shall be held harmless from any tax, charge, or fee liability in any taxing jurisdiction in this state that otherwise would be due solely as a result of an assignment of a street address to an incorrect taxing jurisdiction if, subject to RCW 82.32.500, the home service provider employs an enhanced zip code to assign each street address to a specific taxing jurisdiction for each level of taxing jurisdiction and exercises due diligence at each level of taxing jurisdiction to ensure that each street address is assigned to the correct taxing jurisdiction. If an enhanced zip code overlaps boundaries of taxing jurisdictions of the same level, the home service provider must designate one specific jurisdiction within the enhanced zip code for use in taxing the activity for such enhanced zip code for each level of taxing jurisdiction. Any enhanced zip code assignment changed in accordance with RCW 82.32.500 is deemed to be in compliance with this section. For purposes of this section, there is a rebuttable presumption that a home service provider has exercised due diligence if the home service provider demonstrates that it has:

     (a) Expended reasonable resources to implement and maintain an appropriately detailed electronic database of street address assignments to taxing jurisdictions;

     (b) Implemented and maintained reasonable internal controls to correct misassignments of street addresses to taxing jurisdictions promptly; and

     (c) Used all reasonably obtainable and usable data pertaining to municipal annexations, incorporations, reorganizations, and any other changes in jurisdictional boundaries that materially affect the accuracy of the database.

     (2) Subsection (1) of this section applies to a mobile telecommunications service provider that is in compliance with the requirements of subsection (1) of this section, if in this state an electronic database has not been provided under RCW 82.32.490, until the later of:

     (a) Eighteen months after the nationwide standard numeric code described in RCW 82.32.490(1) has been approved by the federation of tax administrators and the multistate tax commission; or

     (b) Six months after the department or a designated database provider in this state provides the database as prescribed in RCW 82.32.490(1).

[2002 c 67 § 12.]

Notes: Finding -- Effective date -- 2002 c 67: See notes following RCW 82.04.530.