[Legislativecommittee1] FW: Constituent Email RR: - Please support SB 5111 / HB 1115 and prevent increased costs for homebuyers!

Thu Mar 13 13:35:24 PDT 2025

FYI - a response to my TAN message, and my reply to Sen. Solomon.

I assume others have now received responses to their similar TAN emails. 

This will obviously be on the agenda at the Board/Annual meeting in Coeur
d'Alene.

George

George Peters, WTP

Executive Director

Washington Land Title Association

 <https://washingtonlandtitle.com> https://washingtonlandtitle.com 

Mail: PO Box 328, Lynnwood, WA 98046

Delivery: 6817 208th St SW, #328, Lynnwood, WA 98036

206-437-5869 (Mobile)

206-260-4731 (Fax)

 <mailto:execdirector at wltaonline.org> execdirector at washingtonlandtitle.com

This is a confidential communication intended solely for the named
recipient. If you are not the intended recipient, please destroy it and call
George Peters at 206-437-5869 immediately. Thank you.

From: George Peters <execdirector at washingtonlandtitle.com> 
Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2025 1:33 PM
To: 'Salomon, Sen. Jesse' <Jesse.Salomon at leg.wa.gov>
Subject: RE: Constituent Email RR: - Please support SB 5111 / HB 1115 and
prevent increased costs for homebuyers!

Thank you, Senator Solomon. Our industry will continue to advocate on this
issue, and hope to get it resolved in due course.

George

George Peters, WTP

Executive Director

Washington Land Title Association

 <https://washingtonlandtitle.com> https://washingtonlandtitle.com 

Mail: PO Box 328, Lynnwood, WA 98046

Delivery: 6817 208th St SW, #328, Lynnwood, WA 98036

206-437-5869 (Mobile)

206-260-4731 (Fax)

 <mailto:execdirector at wltaonline.org> execdirector at washingtonlandtitle.com

This is a confidential communication intended solely for the named
recipient. If you are not the intended recipient, please destroy it and call
George Peters at 206-437-5869 immediately. Thank you.

From: Stull, Sophia <Sophia.Stull at leg.wa.gov
<mailto:Sophia.Stull at leg.wa.gov> > On Behalf Of Salomon, Sen. Jesse
Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2025 1:27 PM
To: execdirector at washingtonlandtitle.com
<mailto:execdirector at washingtonlandtitle.com> 
Subject: RE: Constituent Email RR: - Please support SB 5111 / HB 1115 and
prevent increased costs for homebuyers!

Dear George,

Thank you for reaching out. We just passed a major bill cutoff, and this
bill did not pass out of its committee before the deadline for bills to be
voted out of fiscal committees. 

While it is unlikely this bill will progress further this session, I
appreciate your advocacy on this issue. Senate Bill 5111 will start in the
Ways & Means committee next session, and I will keep your comments in mind
when it is up for consideration again.

Please contact me with any other comments or concerns in the future, I am
happy to listen. 

Sincerely,

Jesse

Jesse Salomon

Senator, 32nd Legislative District

Washington State Senate

Office: (360) 786 - 7662 | |  <mailto:jesse.salomon at leg.wa.gov>
jesse.salomon at leg.wa.gov

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Please be aware that any email or documents you provide to this office may
be subject to public disclosure under RCW 42.56.  If you would prefer to
communicate by phone, please contact the office at (360) 786-7662. 

From: execdirector at washingtonlandtitle.com
<mailto:execdirector at washingtonlandtitle.com>
<execdirector at washingtonlandtitle.com
<mailto:execdirector at washingtonlandtitle.com> > 
Sent: Monday, January 27, 2025 5:34 PM
To: Salomon, Sen. Jesse <Jesse.Salomon at leg.wa.gov
<mailto:Jesse.Salomon at leg.wa.gov> >
Subject: Constituent Email RR: - Please support SB 5111 / HB 1115 and
prevent increased costs for homebuyers!

SENATE INTERNET E-MAIL DELIVERY SERVICE

TO:  Jesse Salomon

FROM: George Peters (Constituent)

STREET ADDRESS:
1160 N 192nd St Apt 313
Shoreline, WA 98133

E-MAIL:  execdirector at washingtonlandtitle.com
<mailto:execdirector at washingtonlandtitle.com> 

PHONE:  (206) 437-5869

SUBJECT:  Please support SB 5111 / HB 1115 and prevent increased costs for
homebuyers!

MESSAGE:

Senator Salomon I am a constituent who works in the title industry and am
writing to ask you to support Senate Bill 5111/ House Bill 1115, concerning
the excise tax treatment of recording fees. This bill makes clear that taxes
should not be collected on recording fees, which helps reduce the costs for
buying a home. Recording fees have long been considered a pass-through cost
for consumers. Recently, the DOR proposed that these fees be taxed. Here are
some key reasons there should not be a tax on recording fees. 1. Under WAC
458-20-111, the customer or client alone is liable for the payment of fees
or costs. Advances and reimbursements may be excluded from taxable amounts
when they meet all of the following conditions: 1. They are a customary
reimbursement for an advance made to procure a service for the client. 2.
They are for services that the taxpayer does not and cannot render. 3. The
taxpayer is not liable for the payment except as an agent for the client.
Document recording fees meet all three of these conditions! 2. Document
recording fees are collected by the county Auditor when documents are
presented for recording in the public record. The standard recording fee is
set by state law and is currently $303.50. Of this amount, $4.83 is the fee
which goes to Recording Operations and Maintenance and the remaining $298.67
is tax collected and disbursed to various Affordable Housing funds, Archives
and Preservation funds and the General Fund for county administration and
operations. A majority of this fee is taxes, and based on a recent state
supreme court ruling should not be further taxed. 3. Recording fees are
disbursed to the Auditor in the same manner as REETA funds are disbursed to
the Treasurer, or loan payoffs are disbursed to a lender. All of these are
part of the normal process involved in closing a real estate sale
transaction, yet the DOR is asserting that the recording fee is a cost of
doing business to the title or escrow company and the other items are not.
4. Tax law should be applied consistently. Multiple title companies have
been audited by the DOR in the last ten years and the findings of these
audits have not been consistent. We are told by the DOR that we can rely on
the guidance provided on their website via WTD documents, yet their own
auditors do not apply those decisions in the same manner from audit to
audit. Like any other business, we need reliable and consistent information,
this bill would provide that. I hope you will vote in support of Senate Bill
5111/House Bill 1115, which will keep consumers from paying additional costs
when they buy or refinance a property. Thank you, George Peters 

RESPONSE REQUESTED:  George has requested a response to this message.

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