POPULATION:6,968,200 (State Office of Financial Management - April 2014)
LABOR FORCE: 3,484,200 (Washington State Employment Security-Aug. 2013)
RIGHT TO WORK: No
KEY INDUSTRIES:Aerospace, information and communication technology, clean technology, life sciences/ global health, forest products, value-added agriculture, food processing, marine technology, military and defense
EXPANDING INDUSTRIES: Advanced manufacturing, composites, biotechnology, clean energy, electronics, telecommunications, software, international trade services, maritime, scientific instruments, machinery, value-added agriculture
COLLEGE GRADUATES: (Age 25 and over) 31%
BASIC BUSINESS TAXES:
Washington State has no corporate or personal tax on income, and no capital gains tax.
Business and Occupation Tax: Washington imposes this tax on most businesses; it is based on gross receipts and there are few deductions available; the rate for manufacturers, distributors, and wholesalers is 0.484 percent; the rate for retailers is 0.471 percent; services are now subject to a uniform B&O tax rate of 1.5 percent; other B&O tax rates vary.
Sales and Use Tax: Sales tax must be collected on retail sales of tangible personal property, as well as cleaning, repairing, altering, or improving real property and tangible personal property, including labor charges; use tax is due on the value of tangible personal property used in the state on which retail sales tax has not been paid; exemptions include groceries and prescription drugs; the state sales tax is 6.5 percent; the local rate varies from 0.5 to 3.0 percent depending on the location where the customer receives the goods or the services are performed.
Property Tax: Local tax with rates based on appraised value and varying by location; the average statewide effective property tax is $11.78 ($12.25) per $1,000 of assessed value.
BUSINESS INCENTIVES:
Sales and use tax exemption on machinery and equipment used in manufacturing
Reduced B&O tax rate for aerospace businesses, solar energy systems and components of solar energy manufacturers, timber extraction and biomass fuels
Reduced B&O tax rate for manufacturers of semiconductor materials
B&O Exemption for Manufacturers of Fruit, Vegetables, Dairy and Seafood
Rural county sales and use tax deferral for eligible data centers
Rural county B&O credit for new employees in manufacturing facilities
Sales Tax deferral for warehouse, distribution centers and grain elevators
High Unemployment County Sales & Use tax deferral/Waiver on Construction of Manufacturing Facilities
High technology sales and use tax deferral and exemption and B&O tax credit
Community Empowerment Zone and Enterprise Communities Foreign Trade Zones incentives
Community Economic Revitalization Board and Development Loan funding
Renewable energy incentives
Washington State Job Skills Program
PRINCIPAL MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES
Aerospace (commercial airplanes, UAV/S, space, aviation biofuels)
Clean Technology (power storage/batteries, smart grid)
Maritime (shipbuilding, fish processing)
Life Sciences/Global Health (medical devices)
Information & Communication Technology (cloud computing, software/app development, mobile communications)
Agriculture (food processing)
