OLYMPIA, Wash., January 9, 2008—The Department of Revenue has
released Tax Exemptions 2008, a compendium of state and local
tax exemptions. The legislatively mandated tax exemption study
is updated every four years. It is available online. The 567
exemptions enacted since territorial days in 1854 represent an
estimated $98.5 billion in state and local tax savings during
the 2007 – 2009 biennium. Of this, about 54 percent, or $53.5
billion, involves state taxes and the remaining $45 billion are
local taxes. The largest single exemption is the property tax
exemption for intangibles, enacted in 1931. It accounts for 36.7
percent, or $36.2 billion, of the total. Intangibles include
assets such as money, stocks, bonds, bank deposits, and the
value of corporate trademarks. Were it not for this exemption,
businesses and individuals would have to pay property taxes on
their financial assets as well as their real estate. The second-
largest is a use tax exemption on personal property owned by
nonresidents who visit Was