From forest to furniture:
How the B&O tax is passed on

Washington's business-and-occupation tax, unique in the country, essentially taxes gross sales. It brought in more than $2 billion last year, making it the state's second-biggest revenue source behind the sales tax. Cities took in $205.3 million from them in 2000. Businesses often pass along some if not all of their B&O burden to customers. Here's how that "pyramiding" process works.