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Tag: tax collections

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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‘Sharp slowdown’ in WA as recovery struggles

‘Sharp slowdown’ in WA as recovery struggles

A new state report says tax collections were down $70 million below forecast levels in May, due to a “sharp slowdown” in the economy.  Still, even accounting for that, total collections since the March forecast are up $93 million, thanks to one-time collections under the tax “amnesty” program. Arun Raha, the state’ s chief economist and director of the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council, said in an update that the national economy has “entered another soft patch in a recovery…

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