Category Archives: Taxes

Kitsap retail sales climbed 7 percent in second quarter

shipping1_13446451_ver1-0_640_480Taxable retail sales reached $1.03 billion in Kitsap in the second quarter of the year, an increase of 7.3 percent from the same period of 2015.

Sales grew at a slower rate than in previous quarters.

Kitsap enjoyed an 8 to 11 percent year-over-year increase in sales in each of the past five quarters, according to the Department of Revenue.


Retail trade sales (sales made by stores, dealerships and other businesses selling merchandise to consumers) totaled $550 million in Kitsap in the second quarter of 2016, up 7.4 percent from 2015.

Here’s a look at how second quarter sales in Kitsap compared with other Puget Sound counties:

Sales by industry

Major retail trade industries reporting increased sales included auto dealers and parts stores (up 14.3 percent), building and garden material suppliers (up 11.6 percent),  drug and health stores (up 24.4 percent), and general merchandise stores (up 1 percent).

Outside of retail trade, construction climbed 13.3 percent and accommodations and food services rose 7.4 percent.

Here’s a full breakdown of sales by industry (click the full screen button so you won’t strain your eyeballs):

q.2.2016.retail by Tad Sooter on Scribd

Poulsbo firm’s software will power state liquor licensing system

palladin_11951299_ver1-0_640_480Post by Nathan Pilling, Kitsap Sun

The state Liquor and Cannabis Board has selected a product from a Poulsbo company to support its licensing and enforcement operations throughout the state.

Paladin Data Systems’ SMARTGOV is a cloud-based product that will manage the state’s alcohol and cannabis permitting and licensing processes.

The system will allow the state to process applications faster, and “empowers applicants to become active participants in the permitting and licensing process, providing all of our citizens with information transparency,” Paladin CEO Jim Nall stated in a release.

The system will allow businesses to apply for permits, upload documents and monitor those applications online.

Liquor and Cannabis Board spokesman Mikhail Carpenter said SMARTGOV will replace the agency’s old, outdated licensing system and will make the permitting process less complex for both state employees and customers.

The agency is expected to begin using SMARTGOV in late 2017, Carpenter said.

Census acknowledges data gap that led to faulty fast ferry numbers

The U.S. Census Bureau has acknowledged a data gap in one of its online applications that led Kitsap Transit to publish untrue statements about local commuter trends.

While fact checking campaign materials for Kitsap Transit’s fast ferry sales tax proposal, the Kitsap Sun discovered Census’ OnTheMap employment mapping tool doesn’t display civilian Department of Defense jobs, even though documentation for the application stated those jobs were included.

The omission was readily apparent in Bremerton, where defense jobs represent a large segment of the labor market.

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility employed about 11,000 workers in 2014, the most recent year OnTheMap has data for. But OnTheMap showed only 218 jobs in the area of the shipyard.

The Sun contacted the Census Bureau regarding the discrepancy on Oct. 12. At first, bureau representatives were unable to confirm whether shipyard jobs were included in OnTheMap data. Then on Friday, Census provided this statement:

“The U.S. Census Bureau’s OnTheMap tool does not include civilian employees of the Department of Defense and Armed Forces.

“We have updated the application documentation for the tool to reflect this exclusion. We are committed to providing data that gives an accurate snapshot of our nation’s communities.”

Without the disclaimer regarding civilian defense jobs, OnTheMap presented a skewed snapshot of many communities like Kitsap with a strong military presence. The Department of Defense employs nearly 800,000 civilians, according to its careers website.

By relying on the incomplete Census data for its research, Kitsap Transit drew the incorrect conclusion that more Kitsap residents work in Seattle than work in Bremerton — a talking point that helped bolster the case for fast ferry service across Puget Sound.

Kitsap Transit removed fast ferry materials that referenced the claim after the discrepancy in OnTheMap data was brought to light.

We don’t know how many other local public agencies have used OnTheMap for planning.

Puget Sound Regional Council spokesman Rick Olson said council staff do not use OnTheMap for research, but do recommend the tool to people looking for a quick overview of commuter trends.

Including civilian defense jobs in OnTheMap would be a useful service to the public. Users of the application will at least now be warned a large gap exists in the data.

Kitsap will receive $200k from marijuana excise tax in FY 2017

paper_leaf_img_6126_webMore than $200,000 in marijuana excise tax revenue will flow into Kitsap in the coming year.

Kitsap County is in line to receive $126,774, according to a list of fiscal year 2017 tax distributions posted by the Liquor and Cannabis Board.

Port Orchard will receive $40,107, Bremerton $27,989 and Bainbridge Island $16,419.

Poulsbo, which has a moratorium on marijuana businesses, will not receive any money.

The state committed to distributing $6 million in revenue from the 37 percent tax on recreational marijuana to local governments in both fiscal years 2016 and 2017. (The fiscal year runs July through June.)

The money is divvied up based on the amount of marijuana tax generated in each jurisdiction in the previous year. Kitsap governments are spending the money on law enforcement.

Beginning in fiscal year 2018, the state will distribute 30 percent of marijuana excise tax revenue to local governments. Thirty percent of that amount will go to cities and towns. Seventy percent will go to counties.

Tax break was ‘absolutely critical’ to Bremerton apartment project

12096541_10206510262029092_907327638897249611_nThe 606 Apartments in Bremerton was the first project to make use of the city’s mutli-family tax exemption program, as I noted in a Sunday story.

PJ Santos, whose Lorax Partners company developed the 606, was off on vacation last week when I put the story together, but called Monday to give me his thoughts on the program.

Put plainly, Santos said the apartments couldn’t have been built without the incentive, which exempts to value of new apartment buildings from property taxes for up to 12 years.

“The project would not have happened if we didn’t have the abatement,” Santos said. “It was absolutely critical to make it viable.”

Rents in Kitsap are much lower than in Seattle, but construction costs are just as high. Santos aid the tax exemption, which saved 606 owners roughly $25,000 in 2016, made the project pencil out.

He noted cities are still able to tax the improvements as new construction once the exemption expires. But the delay in taxing the full value provides a much-needed boost for building Bremerton.

“It helps kick start development,” Santos said.

You can read more about Bremerton’s multi-family tax exemption here.

Kitsap retail sales up 10 percent in first quarter

Retail sales increased 9.7 percent in Kitsap County during the first three months of the year, outpacing the statewide growth in sales.

shoes6_22899584_ver1.0_640_480Kitsap establishments reported $914 million in taxable sales in the first quarter of 2016, compared with $834 million in the first quarter of 2015, according to the state Department of Revenue.

Retail trade sales (subset of retail sales that includes transactions made by dealerships, stores and other businesses selling merchandise directly to consumers) were up 6.7 percent, marking the largest percentage increase in the region.

Statewide, retail sales grew 8.9 percent in the first quarter and retail trade sales grew 5.1 percent.

Here’s a chart showing sales growth in Puget Sound area counties:

Sales by industry

Major retail trade industries reporting increased sales included auto dealers and parts stores (up 12.4 percent), building and garden material suppliers (up 10.7 percent),  drug and health stores (up 31.3 percent), and sporting goods, toys, book and music stores (up 7.1 percent).

General merchandise stores experienced a 1.5 percent dip in sales, after enjoying a strong fourth quarter.

Outside of retail trade, building construction climbed 24.7 percent, manufacturing 7.1 percent, wholesale trade 16.5 percent, and accommodations and food services 12.5 percent.

Here’s a full breakdown of sales by industry (click the full screen button to avoid squinting):

Third quarter retail sales topped $1 billion

Taxable retail sales in Kitsap County topped $1 billion for the first time in the third quarter of 2015.

The $1.01 billion in sales reported from July through September marked a 9 percent increase from the same period of 2014, according to the Department of Revenue. 

Retail trade sales were also up about 9 percent in the third quarter, with $524 million reported. Retail trade sales are sales made by dealerships, stores, online sellers and other traditional retailers.

These were some third quarter highlights:

  • Sales by new and used auto dealerships were up 19 percent
  • Sales of building materials were up 8.6 percent
  • Sales by general merchandise stores were up 6 percent
  • Construction was up 9.25 percent
  • Wholesale trade was up 11.4 percent
  • Information was up 10.5 percent
  • Accommodations and food services up 8.9 percent

Kitsap’s growth in retail trade sales set the pace for Puget Sound counties in the third quarter:  

The jump in third quarter retail sales came on the heels of an 11 percent increase in second quarter sales. We should see sales figures from the fourth quarter of 2015 a few months from now.

Kitsap sees first drop in legal marijuana sales

Paper_Leaf_IMG_6126_web

Kitsap County’s first recreational marijuana store opened in August of 2014 and sales soared for the next 14 months.

That trend changed abruptly in November, when the county saw its first month-to-month decline in retail marijuana sales.

Gross sales dipped by nearly 9 percent between October to November, according to numbers posted by the state Liquor and Cannabis Board:

The decline in sales wasn’t limited to Kitsap. Washington recorded its first statewide drop in retail marijuana revenue back in July, following a restructuring of the excise tax, and sales slipped again in November:

 

A one-month falloff in sales is far from a trend, but the decline does come at an interesting time for the industry.

The Liquor and Cannabis Board announced plans last week to lift the cap on retail licenses, as the state prepares to roll the marginally-regulated medical marijuana system into the tightly-controlled recreational marijuana system. The number of stores allowed in Kitsap would increase from 10 to 20.

Some legal marijuana sellers believe the market is already becoming saturated in Bremerton and Port Orchard, pointing to a plateau in per-store sales this fall.

The chart below shows gross sales for each of the seven active marijuana stores in Kitsap (an eighth store, called The Reef, just opened in Bremerton, and a tribally-owned store opened in Suquamish).

You can wave your mouse over the store names to highlight their sales:

Click here for more Kitsap marijuana industry coverage.

Kitsap retail sales up 8 percent in first quarter

Retail sales got off to a fast start in Kitsap in 2015.

Taxable sales in the county were up 8.1 percent in the first quarter of the year, compared with the same period of 2014, according to the Department of Revenue. That was just shy of the 9 percent growth recorded statewide.

Retail trade sales (sales made by stores, dealerships and other sellers of goods) were up 8.2 percent in Kitsap, outpacing statewide growth.

Retail trade sales in Kitsap are now higher than they were before the recession. Sales in other industries, like construction, manufacturing, and hospitality, are still catching up.

Kitsap pot businesses grossed $6M in first year

Paper_Leaf_IMG_6126_web
Rachel Seymour photo

One year ago Wednesday, a shop in Bellingham sold the first bag of legal marijuana in Washington state.

The sale marked a milestone for Kitsap County too: That first bag of pot was grown Bremerton. 

In the year that followed, Washington recreational marijuana businesses recorded more than $250 million in gross sales, generating $62 million for the state in excise taxes. Add in other state and local taxes and the total tax bill topped $70 million.

Kitsap marijuana retailers, growers and processors grossed about $5.75 million, generating $1.44 million in excise tax, according to statistics made available by the Liquor Control Board. Nearly $5 million of gross revenue came from the retail side.

Kitsap’s busiest marijuana shop made $430,000 in sales in June alone.

The county can expect much higher sales totals in the coming year.

Ten Kitsap marijuana enterprises — four shops and six producer/processors — recorded sales between July 2014 and the end of June. As of this week the county had 16 licensed pot businesses, with several more in the works.

Relaxed taxes could also lure more customers to recreational shops.

During the first year of sales, marijuana was taxed 25 percent when sold between a producer and processor, another 25 percent when sold to the retailer, and a final 25 percent when sold to the consumer, resulting in an excise tax of up to 75 percent.

A law enacted this summer will reduce the overall tax to 37 percent.

And that’s not the only sweeping change ahead for the fledgling industry. At the direction of the Legislature, the state will essentially dismantle the existing medical marijuana system over the next year, and roll what’s left into the recreational system.

The expected closure of medical dispensaries will reduce competition for the licensed shops and drive up recreational pot sales.

Here’s a graphical look at the first year of marijuana sales in Kitsap:

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