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Tag: state chief economist Arun Raha

Chief economist sees bleak news on horizon

Chief economist sees bleak news on horizon

Washington’s chief economist, Arun Raha, had hoped we’d be pulling out of our economic doldrums by now, but he says tax collections are sliding backward and he has a “sinking feeling of pessimism” about a possible new recession. In a grim economic and revenue update released Thursday, Raha said the national outlook has “weakened significantly” in the weeks since his June forecast.  He said that forecast assumed improvement would begin in July and then accelerate. But in Washington state, taxes…

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A modest uptick for WA treasury

A modest uptick for WA treasury

Amid continuing state budget angst, the state’s chief economist reported a tiny ray of sunshine Monday.  The new tax collection report for the past month is up about $24 million. That’s peanuts compared with the $5 billion budget gap that faces lawmakers, of course, and swamps the $700 million worth of spending cuts the governor and the Legislature just approved as they try to get the state’s budget back in balance.  But it’s the right direction. Arun Raha, director of…

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