Surge in consumer spending eases state budget challenges
Last edited Thu Sep 24, 2020, 05:53 PM - Edit history (1)
OLYMPIA — A summer surge in consumer spending has erased nearly half of a projected deficit in the state budget, easing concerns of deep cuts to health care, human services, and higher education amid the pandemic.
With federal pandemic aid in hand and a slowly reopening economy, residents went shopping as tax collections the past three months came in nearly $1 billion higher than predicted, according to a new revenue forecast issued Wednesday.
But that report, prepared by the state’s chief economist for the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council, shows overall revenue collections are still way down since the spread of COVID-19 led Gov. Jay Inslee to shut down most of the economy in late March.
State lawmakers and Inslee are facing shortfalls of $2.3 billion in the budget that runs through June and another $1.9 billion in the 2021-23 budget they will craft in the next regular session, according to the report. While significant, the forecast released in June predicted a nearly $9 billion deficit through mid-2023.
https://www.heraldnet.com/news/surge-in-consumer-spending-eases-state-budget-challenges/
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