The Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council today released its quarterly revenue forecast for the 2011-13 biennium and the 2013-15 biennium. The council is projecting a $19.1 million decrease in expected revenues for the 2013-15 biennium, primarily due to federal sequestration reductions, reinstatement of the federal payroll tax, and a state economy that remains fragile. The forecast has also been reduced by $48.7 million for the 2015-17 biennium. An improved trend in housing construction and sales is expected to help buffer against further revenue reductions.

“Today’s revenue forecast is not a surprise. There is growth, though not as much as we hoped for, and it is slow. However, new taxes could easily derail any improvement. Asking citizens to send more money to Olympia and Washington, D.C. will not return dollars to the local economy,” said Rep. Drew MacEwen, R-Union, who serves on the Business and Financial Services Committee.

“Taking more money from hardworking taxpayers rather than prioritizing our budget is unacceptable. House and Senate Democrats have already proposed more than $10 billion in new taxes and its time we say ‘enough is enough’. Our state leadership should be following the example of former Governor Gary Locke,” MacEwen said. In his 2002 address, Locke made the statement:

‘We are convinced there is a better way. This year, we decided not to start with current spending to try to meet the forecasted revenue. Instead, we decided to look at how we should be spending our state’s money in the first place. We are looking at what matters most to Washington citizens. We are focusing on results that people want and need, prioritizing those results, and funding those results with the money we have.’

“Our citizens have dealt with a depressed economy by tightening their belts and prioritizing. The state should be doing the same. My fellow Republicans and I have offered solutions that will create jobs and strengthen our economy without new taxes. We have also put out an education budget that allocates well over $500 million more for education without additional taxes,” MacEwen said. “Creating a budget that addresses priorities without asking for even more money from our citizens is not only possible, it is necessary.

“Political insiders will say this forecast is a crisis, and use it to levy new taxes on struggling families,” MacEwen continued. “In order to have meaningful state budget reform – reform that gets Washington working, educates our children, and creates a state transportation system to address congestion relief and freight mobility – we must stop punishing hard working citizens with more taxes. I will continue to be an advocate for the taxpayer and fight the proposed $10 billion in new taxes.”