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CONTACT THE ENTERPRISE Jocelyn Robinson, Copy editor jrobinson@heraldnet.com

State's streamlined sales tax system is ultimately pointless

Washington state lawmakers couldn't have passed a more complicated piece of legislation than the streamlined sales tax, which goes into effect on July 1.

No, we take that back -- they probably could have approved something even more roundabout and difficult to understand, but it's hard to imagine how.

Washington has joined a growing number of states in approving a streamlined sales tax, aimed at eventually keeping tax money from out-of-state Internet sales in local communities.

In a nutshell, here's how it works:

Say you live in Mill Creek and decide to buy a new bedroom set in one of Lynnwood's many furniture stores. If you transport your new furniture home yourself, the money from the sales tax stays in Lynnwood. But, if you have the store deliver it to your residence, the money follows you home to Mill Creek.

Seems straightforward, right? However, cities that developed incentives for businesses to locate within their boundaries protested -- the tax inadvertently punishes them for attracting retailers, while simultaneously benefitting wealthier communities whose coffers don't depend on a sales tax.

So legislators decided to offset the loss in revenue that cities like Seattle and Lynnwood would suffer by doling out mitigation fees paid for out of the state general fund, thereby rendering the streamlined sales tax absolutely pointless.

Cities that go to the effort of attracting businesses to their area should be allowed to keep the money that those merchants bring in without the rigmarole of mitigation fees. Big box stores and sprawling malls may not be the most attractive elements of a city, but they certainly help pay the bills.