The bill amends existing law (RCW 82.04.759) to create a limited tax exemption for amounts received for printing a newspaper, publishing a newspaper, or publishing “eligible digital content” by a person who reported under the printing and publishing tax classification for the reporting period covering January 1, 2008. Eligible digital content is defined in the bill as a publication issued at least monthly, consisting mainly of written content whose largest word-count category identifies the author or original source, and available exclusively in electronic form. The exemption must be reduced by the value of any “expenditure” made by the person during the tax reporting period, and if a person primarily engaged in the exempt activities charges a single, nonvariable amount that covers both an exempt publication and another type of publication, the entire amount is treated as exempt. The exemption applies only to persons primarily engaged (more than 50 percent of gross worldwide income) in the listed activities, with a limited affiliate exception. The bill imposes a procedural filing requirement: a person claiming the exemption must file a complete annual tax performance report with the Department of Revenue under RCW 82.32.534. Failure to file subjects the claimant to taxation equal to the gross income of the business activities multiplied by 0.484 percent as provided in RCW 82.32.534(4). If the Department finds a claimant is not eligible, taxes equal to that same 0.484 percent of gross income become immediately due and the Department must assess interest (but not penalties) at the delinquent excise tax rate under chapter 82.32 RCW, retroactive to the date the exemption was taken and accruing until paid. Section 1 of the act expires January 1, 2026; Section 2 takes effect January 1, 2026, and expires January 1, 2034. Important contextual details are not included in the extracted text: the bill references “printing and/or publishing a newspaper, as defined on January 1, 2008,” but that definition is not provided here; two different statutory citations are given for the meaning of “expenditure” (RCW 42.17A.005 in Section 1 and RCW 29B.10.230 in Section 2) without explanation; the specific filing deadline for the required annual tax performance report is not stated; and the immediate effective date for Section 1 (if any) and the full text of the cross-referenced provisions are not reproduced in these extracts.

If enacted, qualifying newspaper printers and publishers and certain digital-only publishers that earn most of their revenue from those activities would generally stop owing tax on amounts received for printing, publishing a newspaper, or publishing defined “eligible digital content,” with the exemption reduced by the value of certain expenditures. The exemption is limited to businesses that get more than half their worldwide income from those activities (with special rules for affiliates), treats a single fixed charge that covers both exempt and other publications as fully exempt, and uses a specific monthly, author-attributed, electronic-only test to define eligible digital content. Parts of the measure are time-limited: one section expires January 1, 2026, and another takes effect January 1, 2026 and expires January 1, 2034. The most affected parties are newspaper printers/publishers and digital publishers who are “primarily” in those businesses; they may pay less tax on qualifying receipts but must file a complete annual tax performance report with the Department of Revenue to claim the exemption. Failing to file or being found ineligible exposes a claimant to tax equal to gross income from the business activities multiplied by 0.484 percent and interest retroactive to when the exemption was taken (the department assesses taxes and interest, but not penalties). Important implementation details are missing from the facts provided: the exact definition of “printing and/or publishing a newspaper” as of January 1, 2008 is not included, the precise filing deadline isn’t stated, and two different statutory references are given for the meaning of “expenditure,” leaving some uncertainty about how expenditures will be treated.