The Economic and Revenue Forecast Council released a report today indicating that tax collections for the September 11 – October 10 collection period were $32.3 million, or 2.9 percent, higher than forecasted in September.
With that, the forecast included a $22.5 million refund that did not occur during the collection period, but will occur at a later time. Had the refund been applied, collections for the month of September would have been $9.8 million, or 0.9 percent, above the forecast.
The report also indicated that Washington employment and income continue to grow modestly, adding 11,400 net new jobs in the last three months, which translates to an annualized growth of 1.6 percent. The Council finds that Washington’s housing construction has slowed as regional home prices continue to rise, and further notes that the October 1st federal government shutdown appears to have affected consumer confidence.
The next revenue forecast will be released on Nov. 20. Gov. Jay Inslee will use that forecast to construct his supplemental budget proposal for the 2014 legislative session, set to begin on Jan. 13.