OLYMPIA… The budget leader for Senate Republicans says the case for providing tax relief this year is even stronger after seeing 2022’s first quarterly forecast of state-government revenue.

Sen. Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver, serves on the state Economic and Revenue Forecast Council. The forecast she and other council members adopted today shows an increase of more than $2.8 billion for state government’s four-year outlook budget period ($1.45 billion for the 2021-23 biennium and $1.32 billion for 2023-25).

Wilson, Republican leader on the Senate Ways and Means Committee, offered this comment:

“The state’s revenues are up more than 10 billion dollars compared to what was expected less than a year ago, and the surplus now stands at 15 billion dollars. It’s raining money, and the Legislature should make it rain for the people of our state in the form of tax relief.

“Letting people keep more of their hard-earned dollars would be especially appropriate given the very real concerns about the inflation rate. It’s higher here in Washington than the national average, and many of our residents have never in their lives seen prices shoot up like they are.

“I’m hearing Democrats talk more like Republicans this year about making sure enough money is put into reserve. That’s welcome, but the numbers make it clear that we can set a responsible amount of money aside and still act on some of the tax-relief proposals Senate Republicans have put on the table. I will push for tax relief every time we have input into this year’s supplemental budget.”