State tax collections for the period from August 11 through Wednesday were actually $6.8 million higher than forecast, which simply means the states budget hole wont deepen further on that account.
It was pegged by the Senate Ways and Means Committee staff to be $2.7 billion based on the last quarterly revenue forecast.
Since then revenue collections for the months of June and July fell short of expectations by about $120 million.
A new quarterly forecast is due out Sept. 18 (a week from today). And when the deficit is next re-calculated itll include the new revenue forecast and an update on caseloads (demand for state services).
It may not include any assumptions for new state worker contracts, a paid family leave benefit and a working family tax credit, all of which would widen the budget gap.
UPDATE: Richard Davis over at the Washington Alliance for a Competitive Economy breaks the news down further here.
For more Olympia Dispatch see www.olympiadispatch.com
Stay updated with the Olympia Dispatch RSS feed:
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/944/v-highlights/index.rss
Similar stories:
Kennewick budget forecast looks grim, city says
Kennewick budget forecast looks grim, city says
KENNEWICK -- Expect the economic forecast to be tougher in the new year, said Kennewick officials, whose midbiennium update to the city council Tuesday could feel like a prediction for a long, cold winter ahead.
Tuesday's council workshop will plow deep into forecasting revenues and expenses for the second half of the 2011-12 biennium. Most revenues are expected to taper off.
The best estimates for revenue projections in 2012 show the city coming up about $653,000 short of the expected $89,577,000 originally budgeted for the general fund.
Revenue office offers business workshop
Revenue office offers business workshop
The Richland office of the Washington State Department of Revenue is offering a free workshop for new and small-business owners from 8 to 9:30 a.m. Jan. 19 at the Labor & Industries Building, in the second floor conference room, 4310 W. 24th Ave., Kennewick.
Participants will learn about Washington excise taxes, reporting classifications, deductions, tax incentives, sales tax collection and record-keeping requirements. All participants will receive a workbook and reference guide to Department of Revenue rules and regulations.
For more information, or to register, call 735-0939. Space is limited.
Department of Revenue to hold workshop Oct. 20
Department of Revenue to hold workshop Oct. 20
The Washington State Department of Revenue is holding a free workshop for new and small business owners from 8 to 9:30 a.m. Oct. 20 at the Labor & Industries building on the second floor conference room, 4310 W. 24th Ave., Kennewick.
Participants will learn about Washington excise taxes, reporting classifications, deductions, tax incentives, sales tax collection and record-keeping requirements. All will receive a workbook and a reference guide to Department of Revenue rules and regulations.
To register, call 735-0939. Space is limited.
Job growth, reform key to state budget
Job growth, reform key to state budget
In less than two weeks, legislators will be back in Olympia, once again trying to address the state’s budget crisis — a gap between revenue and planned spending that already is in the neighborhood of $2 billion.
Undoubtedly, some of my colleagues will want this discussion to revolve solely around spending cuts, while others will be obsessed with the question of whether to send a tax measure to voters. I reject both these approaches. The key to solving our state’s fiscal woes is not new job-crushing taxes or draconian cuts to public safety and support for our most vulnerable citizens; it’s a combination of job growth, spending prioritization and reforms that will increase state government efficiency.
We need to talk about reforms before we talk about revenue, and there are several “sacred cows” which have yet to be considered for real reform. Here are some examples:
Initiative 1183: No
Initiative 1183: No
Initiative 1183 will take away the jobs of 1,400 state employees. State liquor stores are not a tax burden, they produce revenue for the state general fund. What will be a tax burden is new unemployment claims. Retailers will free up existing shelf space to make room for a limited selection of liquor. This will not create new jobs to employ my husband and other former state liquor store employees.
The structure of the liquor business proposed by I-1183 exists nowhere else in the U.S., so there is no model to look at. Fees collected by the state under I-1183 will not make up for all the lost revenue generated by state stores. The state will have to make up for that loss somewhere. I-1183 will bring us closer to a state income tax.
If the WSLCB were privately owned and wanted to sell off its liquor business, it would place a value on that business and negotiate its sale. Under I-1183 the state is expected to simply walk away from the enterprise it has spent 77 years building, one that makes consistent
Print
Email Story
