Vita Food Products, Inc. v. State

This is a tax case. The State has imposed a "privilege fee" upon certain fish handlers, RCW 75.32.030, who are the "original receivers" of such fish. Plaintiff sought a declaratory judgment that it was not an "original receiver" as defined in RCW 75.32.080. The trial court granted the State's motion for a summary judgment. We reverse.

The facts are that the Quileute Indian Tribe operates on its reservation a fish processing plant which purchases fish from Indians and non-Indians. The tribe processes those fish for resale to others, including to the plaintiff.

The statute levies the privilege…