WA SB5088

County legislative authorities may impose an excise tax on utilities based on gross income from services provided to consumers within the county, with a maximum tax rate of 3 percent

Covered utilities include electrical power, gas, telephone, water, sewer, solid waste, and cable service providers

Utilities must add the tax to customer bills and separately itemize the tax amount; counties must wait at least 75 days after adopting the ordinance before implementation, starting only on the first day of a calendar quarter

Counties may exempt business customers such as manufacturing facilities, aircraft repair facilities, industrial parks, farm businesses, and data centers, but cannot exempt residential customers without also exempting businesses

Counties must provide a credit against the tax for any similar utility tax already imposed by a city or town on the same taxable event, preventing double taxation