Shilshole Liveaboard Association

I have been looking into the lease hold tax and laws as they apply to us here in Washington. It seems our neighbors over in Poulsbo and Port Orchard are up in arms about the rates they are being charged. Although their slip fees are much less than ours they are filling for rebates. It seems the 12.84% lease hold tax is far higher than a property tax would be. Thus making it unfair. A request for re evaluation must be filed by the first week of July and the period evaluated can go back as much as four years. This could mean a refund of several hundred to several thousand dollars per person depending on what youe slip fee is. Property tax should be based on the size of your slip I.E. 60'X 16' for me. King county or Seattle would have to figure out what the property tax on that size of a lot would be.

Updated: More than 100 boaters apply for tax reimbursements; applies to renters of any public-owned property

By RICHARD WALKER
Journal of the San Juans Editor
Feb 11 2009

If you rented property owned by the Friday Harbor Port District between Jan. 1, 2004 and Dec. 31, 2008, the state Department of Revenue may have some money for you.

The possibility of reimbursement exists for all renters of publicly-owned property - whether of an airplane hangar, boat slip, or a commercial site, according to Mel Kirpes, the Department of Revenue's operations manager for miscellaneous tax programs.

Property owned by the port district, as well as other public agencies, is exempt from property taxes because it is owned by the public. But those who lease public property pay a leasehold tax of 12.84 percent of the amount of their monthly rent. In other words, if your rent for a boat slip is $100, your leasehold tax is $12.84 on top of that; if your rent is $200, your leasehold tax is $25.68, and so on.

http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/sanjuans/jsj/news/39449934.html

http://dor.wa.gov/Docs/Pubs/IndustSpecific/Leasehold.pdf

Leasehold excise tax savings

The leasehold excise tax is imposed on the privilege granted to a private entity to use or occupy publicly owned property. The tax is 12.84 percent of the rent paid to the public lessor. This amount is generally substantially greater than would be paid in property tax if the tenant owned the property. In such cases, the tenant is eligible for a credit against the leasehold excise tax in the amount of the difference between the leasehold tax and the property tax otherwise payable.

The credit may be claimed retroactively and a refund obtained for overpayment of the tax for the current and four prior years. Application for a refund must be filed with the state Department of Revenue. When the lessee and DOR have concluded the refund process, lessees should also be able to reach agreement with the DOR on a process for asserting the credit on an ongoing basis for future rent payments.

Anyone interested in looking further into this ? I am. I pay aprox $110 each month.