A tax on meals for senior citizens is on the table in Olympia right now. The tax treats retirement home kitchens like restaurants -- a move that could cost seniors hundreds of dollars every year -- and possibly have even starker consequences. Mealtime at Mount Vernon's Mountain Glen retirement home is the best part of the day for Barbara Lane. On Fridays, crab cakes are on the menu. As she digs in, Barbara says it's the Department of Revenue that has her feeling crabby. "This tax is absolutely asinine," says the feisty 89-year-old, adding, "excuse my language." It's unclear when it started but the state Department of Revenue has been taxing every meal served in retirement communities across Washington. In Mount Vernon that's 8.9%. Mountain Glen officials say they weren't aware of the tax until they were audited in 2018 and told to pay up. The state reasons that food is prepared for and served to residents -- just like in a restaurant -- so it should be taxed as such. But 72-year-old Lee Bravener says Mountain Glen is his home and no one should be taxed for eating at home. "We live here. This is our family. This is our home. That's our dining room," he says. "We do in that dining room the same thing that people at home do in their dining room." Barbara and Lee both traveled to Olympia this month to testify in favor of House Bill 1431 which would exempt retirement homes from the tax. "I feel like the people who want to charge us with the tax must not have grandparents or elderly parents living in homes like these," Barbara told the House Finance Committee. DOR is neutral on the bill. READ THE FULL STORY: https://www.king5.com/article/news/politics/state-politics/meal-tax-retirement-communities/281-defd8668-925e-4ed0-b037-fcf4195cece8