New brief: High Stakes for Washington in Competition for 777X
In a new policy brief, we write about the tax preference and spending package the Legislature passed earlier this month as part of the effort to secure manufacture of Boeing’s 777X for Washington. Read it here.
November 20 , 2013 - Kriss Sjoblom
Small increase to state revenue forecast
The state Economic and Revenue Forecast Council meet today and updated its forecast of state revenues. On an apples-to-apples basis, ERFC increased the estimate of revenues for the completed 2011-13 biennium by $9.1 million and increased the forecast of revenues for the current 2013-15 biennium by $16.0 million. $10.5 million of the latter figure results […]
November 19 , 2013 - Kriss Sjoblom
State revenue forecast will be updated tomorrow
The Economic and Revenue Forecast Council will update its forecast of state revenue tomorrow. The collections report for the October 11 to November 10 period that was issued last Tuesday (November 12) showed collections were $48.4 million (3.9%) greater than expected under the forecast adopted in September. Early property tax payments contributed $21.7 million of […]
November 07 , 2013 - Richard S. Davis
Special legislative session signals good news for machinists, for Boeing and for the state economy
Gov. Jay Inslee called lawmakers back to Olympia for a special session today designed to secure the Boeing 777X and its carbon fiber wing for Washington state. The proposed legislation complements the agreement reached by Boeing and the Machinists union for an eight-year contract extension assuring continued labor peace and changes benefiting the company and […]
October 17 , 2013 - Richard S. Davis
Washington ranks 6th best in Tax Foundation's 2014 State Business Tax Climate Index
Once again, the Washington, D.C.-based Tax Foundation gives Washington high marks for its business tax climate. The map below shows how the 50 states fare on the annual report. The full report is here. As we’ve written before, the Tax Foundation methodology favors states without an income tax. Here’s from our post on last year’s […]
September 19 , 2013 - Emily Makings
New special report: Economic Impact of Data Centers on Central Washington
Our latest report is on the Economic Impact of Data Centers on Central Washington. Briefly, World class industries have located in Central Washington, providing stable, diversified employment and expanded tax bases for local governments. The data center industry is among the notable additions to Central Washington’s resurgent economy. Data centers have benefitted Central Washington in […]
September 18 , 2013 - Richard S. Davis
Another good news state revenue forecast, with a warning
Today’s state revenue forecast beat expectations (at least my expecations). First the good news, from the press release: The September forecast for the 2013-15 biennium is $345 million higher than in June and the forecast for the 2015-17 biennium has been increased by $342 million. These forecast updates include $123 million in legislative and other […]
September 16 , 2013 - Emily Makings
Special Report: Initiative 522: Costly, Flawed and Ill-Conceived
This fall Washington residents will vote on Initiative 522, which would require foods offered for retail sale in the state to be labeled if they are genetically engineered. In a special report, we assess the economic impact of I-522 on Washington’s consumers, taxpayers and Washington’s agricultural economy. Here is the executive summary, and here is […]
September 11 , 2013 - Richard S. Davis
Scoping hearings for Millennium coal export terminal near Longview
Our recently completed four-part series on trade and transportation underscored the benefits of bulk commodity exports to our state. Among them: Continued export growth in bulk commodities will boost job creation and investment Expanded facilities for coal will benefit other key export sectors, including agriculture The expansion will spur additional private sector spending on rail […]
September 11 , 2013 - Kriss Sjoblom
State revenues exceeded forecast by $65 million during August 11 to September 10 collection period
The economic and revenue forecast council’s monthly Economic & Revenue Update brought more good news today. Here is the key bullet point regarding revenue from the summary: Major General Fund-State revenue collections for the August 11 – September 10, 2013 collection period were $65.0 million (6.0%) higher than the June forecast. For the three collection […]