JLARC finds airplane-modification exemption supports jobs, recommends continuation

JLARC staff presented a review of the sales-and-use tax exemption for large airplane modifications performed in Washington for nonresident owners and recommended continuation beyond its July 2031 expiration because it appears to support jobs and state tax revenue.

Staff summarized that, since 2017, eligible owners have saved an average of $2,700,000 per fiscal year and that modification work did not occur in Washington before the preference was enacted in 2013; staff estimated the preference likely supports up to 1,000 jobs and cited prior work reaching similar conclusions. Commissioners offered no substantive challenges during the presentation, and staff said the exemption helped sustain modification activity in Moses Lake, Bothell, and Marysville.