A. Payment of the excise tax imposed under this chapter shall be the obligation of the seller. The excise tax imposed under this chapter and any interest or penalties thereon is a specific lien upon each piece of real property sold from the time of sale until the tax is paid. Such lien may be enforced through an action of debt against the seller or in the manner prescribed for the foreclosure of mortgages. Pursuit of one course of enforcement is not an election not to pursue the other.

B. The excise tax imposed by this chapter shall be paid to and collected by the treasurer, who shall act as agent for the city. The treasurer shall cause a stamp evidencing satisfaction of the lien to be affixed to the instrument of sale or conveyance prior to its recording or to the real estate excise tax affidavit in the case of used manufactured home sales. A receipt issued by the treasurer for the payment of the excise tax imposed under this chapter shall be evidence of the satisfaction of the lien imposed in subsection A of this section and RCW 82.46.040, and may be recorded in the manner prescribed for recording satisfaction of mortgages. No instrument of sale or conveyance evidencing a sale subject to the tax may be accepted by the Skagit County auditor for filing or recording until the tax is paid and the stamp affixed thereto; in case the tax is not due on the transfer, the instrument shall not be accepted until suitable notation of this fact is made on the instrument by the treasurer. (Ord. 2756 Att. A, 2006: Ord. 2174 § 4, 1991)