Blog

March 11 to April 10 state revenue collections beat forecast by $28.7 million

Budget writers received a bit of good news today in the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council’s monthly Economic and Revenue Update. For the March 11 to April 10 period, collections were a bit above the amount expected under the forecast adopted on March 20. Key points from the summary: Major General Fund-State revenue collections for […]

The R&D tax credit and the budget

In the Washington Technology Industry Association blog, Lewis McMurran writes about the Senate budget and the very-soon-to-be-released House budget. On the House budget, he says, It will likely look more like the Governor’s than the Senate’s.  We can anticipate at least $1 billion in new taxes or reducing tax incentives. We fully expect there will […]

Courting California: UT & VA Governors Want to Win Jobs from Golden State

California’s troubled business climate has become a punchline. Earlier this year, Texas Gov. Rick Perry ran radio ads in California urging businesses to check out Texas. Chief Executive magazine ranks California the worst state for business. The California Business Roundtable finds a majority of business leaders think it’s harder to do business in California than […]

Incentives (Still) Matter

News today that Boeing will be investing $1 billion and creating 2,000 jobs in South Carolina over the next eight years underscores the aggressive competition among the states. And, it shows that incentives continue to play a role in corporate investment decisions. Communities and states that understand that simple fact stand to gain. While we […]

AP report highlights problems in retiree pension, health care programs

Yesterday AP reporter Mike Baker exposed abuses in a now-closed pension program for police and firefighters. The program makes it possible for some people to pump their pension by taking late pay raises. As Baker reports, it’s not an isolated situation. And it significantly increases state pension costs. • Even while state and local budget […]

Senate-passed budget would spend $15 million more than originally proposed

On Friday, the Senate approved the budget proposed by the Ways and Means chair earlier last week, by a 30-18 vote. The final product is very close to the original proposal, which we detailed in a policy brief last week. As approved, near general fund-state plus opportunity pathways (NGFS+) appropriations for 2013-15 would total $33.349 […]

State budget office expresses concerns with proposed Senate budget

Things are moving fast. For now. Then they’re likely to slow down. The quick stuff is the speed of the Senate budget, which was unveiled Wednesday and may go to the floor today, having passed out of committee yesterday. A similarly hare-like pace may be anticipated for the House budget expected next week. Then the […]

New Brief: Increasing Education Spending in 2013-15: New Taxes or Re-Prioritization?

In a new policy brief, we compare Gov. Inslee’s “budget priorities for a working Washington” to the 2013-15 budget proposal from the Senate Ways and Means Committee chair.

Oil companies top the list of taxation heroes

In today’s Wall Street Journal, Merril Matthews debunks the enduring myth of the undertaxed oil company. …those special tax breaks just for the oil and gas industry don’t exist. <snip> Ironically, USA Today just published the top-10 list of companies that paid the highest U.S. income taxes as of 2012, and oil industry companies took […]

Skilled worker shortage starts with high school

Education Week carries a short item on the shortage of skilled manufacturing workers. It’s consistent with what we posted on yesterday regarding a new study of the skills gap in Washington. The EW story has this additional insight. In Minnesota, 13 percent of all jobs are in manufacturing, and the average pay is about $56,000 […]