Dealers in Fife recorded over a half a billion dollars in vehicle sales in 2019, and the city collected over $1,000 per household in taxes on those sales. In contrast, the adjacent city of Edgewood collected just $11 per household in car sales taxes.
Economy
Manufacturing Rebounds in a Hurry
In January and February of this year, manufacturing indices were just about where they were in early 2020, when adjusted for inflation.
2020 State GDP–We’re Number Two!
While not a single state had real GDP growth in 2020, Washington experienced the second smallest decline. And in nominal terms, without adjusting for inflation, the state’s economy actually grew slightly. Only the Beehive State did better.
Housing Booming All Over—But Not In Washington
All of the subregions of the country, including the slow-growing Northeast, saw an increase in single family permits in 2020 over 2019. But, somehow Washington State missed the memo.
Sales Taxes: Who Got Hammered In 2020 And Who Didn’t
Countywide (including unincorporated areas) sales tax collections were down about 9 percent for the year. But quite a number of cities had either very small losses or actual gains. The biggest losers were, not surprisingly, near SeaTac Airport.