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House Bill 1793 (HB 1793), introduced by State Representative Mia Gregerson, would impose a $2 tax on every sale of a wireless connected smart device over $250.
The taxes collected under HB 1793 would be used under the rules defined by the Digital Equity Planning Grant Program that distributes the money to local governments, institutions of higher education, workforce development councils, or other entities. There is little restriction on the use of the funds by the program.
HB 1793 would require the $2 tax to be declared separately from other sales taxes on the declaration to the state of the retail sale. Failure to do so is considered a gross misdemeanor.
The Center Square estimates that it will cost a household approximately $40, when devices are replaced, based on the average 20 smart devices a home has.
96.7% of Washington State residents have access to wired or wireless broadband service (as defined by the FCC) with nearly 50% of residents having access to fiber-optic internet services. The majority of residents that have limited access to broadband internet live in rural areas of the state. The Digital Equity Grant Program will do little to help these rural areas and duplicates efforts by the federal government rural broadband expansion planning.
In fact, the majority of the taxes that would be collected under HB 1793 would go to residents that already have access to cheap broadband under a $65 billion Federal Communications Commission (FCC) program.
House Bill 1793 is unnecessary and duplicative of the existing federal programs in place to help families get access to cheap, reliable broadband. It will drive up costs of electronic devices for home and businesses in Washington, through a regressive, unnecessary tax.
