State tax collections up $101.1 million, or 4.3 percent higher than forecasted during the June 11th and July 10th reporting period according to a new report issued this week by the state’s Economic and Revenue Forecast Council. The full report can be found on the council’s website here.
Growth in retail sales tax collections, an increase in B&O tax collections, and an increase in six of the eleven retail trade sectors all attributed to the moderate growth. There were also increases in payments from non-retail trade sectors, an increase in tax payments by businesses in the accommodation and food services sector, and some significant decreases in payments from the manufacturing sector, particularly from the petroleum refining and transportation equipment sectors.
The report further shows that personal income in Washington has outpaced the national average during the past 18 months and that inflation in the Seattle area has exceeded the national average over the past year. It also pegs the statewide unemployment rate at 3.8 percent, a figure that has fallen for four straight months and matches the historic low point realized in February 2020.