1/14/09 The Tacoma News Tribune announced today that the Washington State Dept of Revenue has changed its position on the calculation of excise tax for short sales. Previously, DOR had stated that it would collect tax on both the sale price and the amount of debt forgiven by the bank. DOR communications director Mike Gowrlyow reported that the department will now levy the tax only on the actual sale price of the property. Thank goodness DOR came to its senses and abondoned that ill conceived idea, which required title companies and sellers to calculate, based upon their best guess, the amount DOR would claim had been forgiven. Several years of tax disputes were just avoided over the thousands of short sales that have been closed during this financial crisis.