10856952
submission
reifman writes:
Last week, the Washington State House of Representatives passed a bill which would impose a 10% tax on custom software while all but eliminating a $100 million yearly tax obligation that some say Microsoft is wrongfully avoiding by routing large chunks of business through an office in Nevada. "I believe weve got an issue of justice and fairness here," said Rep. Maralyn Chase. "Most of the custom software purveyors are small businesses. It(TM)s a question for me of how we fairly distribute the tax burden." "It means that a 5 person team of entrepreneurs building a cool custom software suite, or a group of system integrators, would face a 10% tax on their services while keeping the exact same project in-house would not be taxed," wrote Rep. Reuven Carlyle. "It would be a massive blow to the entrepreneurial community in our state." The bill won't become law until the house and senate work out how best to raise another $300 million in taxes. A sales tax increase on consumers is also being considered.
9596696
submission
reifman writes:
Despite a $2.8 billion deficit, Washington State's House Bill 3176 would provide Microsoft with a $100 million tax cut annually and possible amnesty on its $1.27 billion Nevada tax dodge. Under current law, all of Microsoft's worldwide licensing revenues of approximately $20.7 billion annually are taxable at .484 percent. Under the new law, only the portion of software licenses sold to Washington state customers would be taxable. Ironically, after slashing Microsoft's tax burden, HB3176 directs the Department of Revenue to crack down on "abusive tax transactions" like those in Nevada — except for a loophole that may provide Microsoft amnesty on its twelve year practice. The bill's lead sponsor is Ross Hunter of Medina, home to Bill Gates and a number of current and former Microsoft billionaires and multi-millionaires, and other areas around Microsoft's corporate campus.
