Kriss Sjoblom

New policy brief: Gov. Inslee's Capital Gains Tax Proposal

Our new brief on Governor Inslee’s Capital Gains Tax Proposal is available through this link.

December employment report shows state gained 7,600 jobs from October to November

The state Employment Security Department issued its employment report for December this morning. The preliminary estimate is that seasonally adjusted employment in Washington increased by 7,600 from November to December. The estimate of October to November job growth was revised down to a gain of 5,800, from the preliminary gain of 6,800 jobs announced in […]

December 11–January 10 state revenue collections were $16.7 million greater than forecast

This morning the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council issued its monthly Economic and Revenue Update , but the news is not as good as the headline suggests. Here are the key bullets on revenue from the summary: Major General Fund-State revenue collections for the December 11, 2014 – January 10, 2015 collection period were $16.7 […]

Pew finds that state tax revenue in Washington is less volatile than in the majority of other states

The Pew Charitable Trusts have posted an analysis comparing the volatility of the tax systems of the fifty states. The index Pew uses for volatility is the standard deviation of year-over-year percent change of each state’s total tax revenue from 1994 to 2013, adjusted for all known tax changes. Alaska has the highest volatility score, […]

New WRC report: The Economic Contribution of Washington State's Petroleum Refining Industry in 2013

Here is a link to our new report quantifying the impact of Washington’s five major petroleum refiners on the state’s economy in 2013.

Boston Fed paper on the increasing volatility of state taxes on capital gains

Governor Inslee has proposed that the state institute a 7 percent tax on capital gains. The first $25,000 of gains for an individual ($50,000 for a couple) would be exempt, as would all gains on a principle residence that had been owned for 20 years or longer.  (For a few more details on the proposal […]

The Department of Revenue has posted its annual Revenue Alternatives list

Before each legislative session, the state Department of Revenue produces a list showing the state revenue impact of various possible tax rate increases. Here is the new version, based on the November 2014 revenue forecast:

Governor Inslee releases $39 billion budget proposal

Governor Jay Inslee released his proposed budget for the 2015-17 biennium this morning. Under the governor’s plan, the state would spend $38.99 billion from the NGFS+ accounts during 2015-17. The represents a 15.4 percent increase from current NGFS+ appropriations for the 2013-15 biennium. (The NGFS+ combines the general fund-state, the education legacy and the opportunity […]

November employment report shows state gained 6,800 jobs from October to November

The state Employment Security Department issued its employment report for November this morning. The preliminary estimate is that seasonally adjusted employment in Washington increased by 6,800 from October to November. The estimate of August to September job growth was revised to a gain of 9,900, from the preliminary gain of 5,600 jobs announced in last […]

November 11–December 10 state revenue collections were $1.5 million below forecast

This morning the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council issued its monthly Economic and Revenue Update. Here are the key bullets on revenue from the summary: Major General Fund-State revenue collections for the November 11 – December 10, 2014 collection period were $1.5 million (0.1%) lower than the November forecast. Revenue Act collections were $14.9 million […]