In 2006, the Legislature enacted EHB 1069, which mandated audit reviews of Washington’s tax preferences.  This legislation also requested a special audit report of tax preferences which were set to expire before the next legislative session.  The one tax preference that will expire before the 2008 legislative session begins is the business and occupation tax deduction for certain beef processors.  This tax deduction was enacted in 2004 to provide temporary tax relief to Washington beef processors due to import bans on U.S. beef in response to the discovery of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in a cow in Washington State.  This performance review of the beef processors’ tax deduction addresses ten primary questions outlined in law, with a focus on whether the tax preference is meeting the public policy objectives for which it was intended.

Lizbeth Martin-Mahar, Ph.D.
Keenan Konopaski, Project Supervisor