HomeMy WebLinkAboutord1982-069DATE September 16, 1982
1 INTRODUCED BY: Van Zanten
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3 PROPOSED BY: Council
4 ORDINANCE NO. 82 -69
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6 AN ORDINANCE IMPOSING AN EXCISE TAX ON
EACH SALE OF REAL PROPERTY IN THE
7 UNINCORPORATED AREAS OF WHATCOM COUNTY
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10 WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of Washington has
authorized counties to impose an excise tax on each sale of real
11 property in the unincorporated areas of the counties (Chapter 49,
12 Sections 11 - 16, Laws of 1982, First Extraordinary Session);
and,
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14 WHEREAS, it is .deemed necessary and in the best
15 interest of the residents of Whatcom County to impose a real
property excise tax pursuant to said authorization;
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17 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE WHATCOM COUNTY
18 COUNCIL as follows:
19 Section 1.
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21 There is hereby imposed an excise tax on each sale of
real property in the unincorporated areas of Whatcom County. The
22 tax shall be imposed and collected pursuant to' Chapter 82.45 of
23 the Revised Code of Washington. The tax imposed by this Ordinance
24 shall be in addition to any such tax previously imposed by the
County.
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26 Section 2.
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The rate of tax imposed by Section 1 of this Ordinance
28 shall be one - quarter (4) of one percent of the selling price.
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Ordinance - 1.
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Section 3.
Taxes imposed by this Ordinance shall be collected from
persons who ..are taxable by the State under Chapter 82.45 R.C.W.
upon the occurrence of any taxable event within the
unincorporated areas of Whatcom County.
Section 4.
Taxes imposed by this Ordinance, and the administrative
and collection thereof, shall comply with all applicable rules,
regulations, laws, and court decisions regarding real estate
excise taxes as imposed by the State under Chapter 82.45 R.C.W.
Section 5.
(1) The County Treasurer shall place one percent of
the proceeds of the taxes imposed under this Ordinance in the
County current expense fund to defray costs of collection.
(2) The remaining proceeds from the County tax under
this Ordinance shall be placed in a County capital improvements
fund. The capital improvements funds shall be used for local
improvements, including those listed in R.C.W. 35.43.040.
(3) The County Executive is hereby directed to develop
a long -term capital improvement plan for the County. Said plan
shall be submitted to the Council for approval.
(4) A portion of the proceeds, in an amount to be
determined, shall be reserved to redeem a $1,000,000.00
Councilmanic bond issue. Said issue shall be used to repair major
storm damage to the County road system.
(5) This section does not limit the existing authority
of the County to impose special assessments on property specially
benefited thereby in the manner prescribed by law.
Ordinance - 2.
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Section 6.
Any tax imposed under this Ordinance and any interest
or penalties thereon shall be a specific lien upon each piece of
real property sold from the time of sale until the tax is paid,
which lien may be enforced in the manner prescribed for the
foreclosure of mortgages.
Section 7.
The taxes levied under this Ordinance are the
obligation of the seller and may be enforced through an action of
debt against the seller or in the manner prescribed for the
foreclosure of mortgages. Resort to one course of enforcement is
not an election not to pursue the other.
Section 8.
Any taxes imposed under this Ordinance shall be paid to
and collected by the Treasurer of the County. The County
Treasurer shall cause a stamp evidencing satisfaction of.the lien
to be affixed to the instrument of sale or conveyance prior to
its recording or to the real estate excise tax affidavit in the
case of used mobile home sales. A receipt issued by the County
Treasurer for the payment of the tax imposed under this Ordinance
shall be evidence of the satisfaction of the lien imposed in
Section 6 of this Ordinance and may be recorded in the manner
prescribed for recording satisfactions of mortgages. No
instrument of sale or conveyance evidencing a sale-subject to the
tax shall be accepted by the County Auditor for filing or
recording until the tax is paid and the stamp affixed thereto; in
case the tax is not due on the transfer, the instrument shall not
be accepted until suitable notation of this fact is made on the
instrument by the treasurer.
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Section 9.
This Ordinance shall become effective on January 1,
Ordinance - 3.
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Section 10.
If any provision of this Ordinance or its application
to any person or circumstances are held invalid, the remainder of
the Ordinance or the application of the provision to other
persons or circumstances shall not be affected.
APPROVED this 7th day of October
AKTES.T ,r, - - -�
Clem of the, Coun it
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
. 1982.
WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON
WILLIAM P. ROEHL,
Council chairperson
( X ) APPROVED ( ) VETOED
BRUCE L. DISEND, JOHN O S,
Ceputy Prosecuting Attorney County Executive
Published September 27, 1982 and
Ordinance - 4.
October 16. 1982