ABC News -> Cities, Counties Take Back Corporate Tax Breaks: Cash-strapped communities have a message for corporations that promised jobs in return for tax breaks: A deal’s a deal. As the economy sputters along, municipalities struggling to fix roads, fund schools and pay bills increasingly are rescinding tax abatements to companies that don’t hire enough workers, that lay them off or that close up shop. At the same time, they’re sharpening new incentive deals, leaving no doubt what is expected of companies and what will happen if they don’t deliver. | More

AP/Tacoma News Tribune -> Lawmakers prep for tax roulette, 2010 edition: Washington’s ruling Democrats are set on raising taxes to avoid deep cuts in state spending. So who gets to pay? That’s the big, stinking question hanging over the 2010 legislative session, which convenes Jan. 11. And it doesn’t look like there are any easy answers. | More

Schmudget -> Governor’s Budget Shows Need for Balanced Approach: Today the Budget & Policy Center is releasing an analysis of Governor Gregoire’s supplemental budget for the FY09-11 biennium. For the second year in a row, the Governor’s budget proposes deep cuts to core public services in response to the continuing economic and fiscal crisis in the state. Combined with the cuts already enacted in the current biennium, the Governor’s supplemental budget proposal would result in a nearly 14 percent reduction in the state’s investments in education, health care, and economic security. | More