The tax collection report for the one-month period between March 11 and April 10 showed another drop. Tax collections were $55 million lower than the estimate that was made only last month.

Although the state economic and revenue forecast office expects the national economy to hit its lowest point in the fall, it's less clear when Washington's economy will do so.

Cumulatively, tax collections from the past 9 months are $717 million, or 8.2 percent lower than for the comparably 9-month period in the previous year. That covers July 2008 through March 2009.

I'll post the full report when I get back to my office. The wireless connection over here in the House is sporadic, at best. It sometimes takes forever to upload PDFs.

At least 1,000 people are expected to gather Wednesday in the Tacoma Mall parking lot for a caravan to Olympia as part of a national Tax Day Tea Party to protest higher taxes.

Organizer Jane Milhans said it's hard to predict the size of the Tacoma crowd, but she is hearing from a lot of people who have never participated in a rally before. Kitsap County organizers are planning to bus people to Tacoma to meet up with the Tacoma caravan, she said.

The crowd will begin gathering as early as 5 a.m. to accommodate people who cannot make the trip to Olympia, Milhans said. They can write a message on a tea bag and leave it with the group to deliver to lawmakers.

The rest of the caravan will depart no later than 9 a.m., but Milhans said she will encourage some smaller groups to leave sooner to give people plenty of time to find parking.

The Evergreen Freedom Foundation has details on the Olympia rally, scheduled to start at noon. There's a similar rally in Spokane, and in states across the country.

UPDATE: A Tacoma Mall spokeswoman who contacted the News Tribune this afternoon said the group did not have permission to use the mall's parking lot, and would not be permitted to assemble there.

A mall official later contacted Milhans, and then called me back to clarify that the group would be meeting at Krispy Kreme, not the Tacoma Mall. Also, the size of the crowd was now estimated at just 50 people, the spokeswoman told me.

Milhans confirmed that the group would meet in the Krispy Kreme parking lot on Tacoma Mall Boulevard, rather than at the mall parking lot per se.

She seemed surprise when I said the mall people were told just 50 people were expected to show up.

"I have no clue," she said. "It depends on the weather. I'm not going to have 1,000 people waiting in Tacoma before going to Olympia just for logistics."

Milhans added: "We'll make it work. We're out here to tell the Legislature not to increase taxes. We're not trying to restrict business to the mall."

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The King County GOP is holding its annual Lincoln Day Dinner on April 25 (the day before the Legislature is suppose to adjourn?) with featured speakers U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert and Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna.

Here'sthe invite.

The Economic Opportunity Institute says big hikes create "sticker shock," even if they are accompanied by more financial aid for poorer students.

Check this out for a comparison to some other states with similar models.

Joe,

Wanted to pass on the Economic Opportunity Institute’s latest policy brief, which analyzes the likely effect of Governor Gregoire’s proposed 14 percent tuition increase for state schools.

In the world of college finance and financial aid, the governor’s proposal is known as the “high-tuition/high-aid” model. In theory, students who can afford higher tuition will pay more; those who cannot will benefit from larger financial aid packages supported by the tuition increase.

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A poll conducted over the first weekend in April showed that charging visitors a $5 "day use" fee is the most popular of four extra ways to charge the public for state parks and recreation. It was favored by a 55-43 margin.

But that's not the route the Legislature is taking to raise more money from parks (so lawmakers can cut back regular state support). Lawmakers are poised to charge $5 on everyone's vehicle registration, but allow the public to "opt out" if they don't want to pay the fee.

Only 40 percent favor that license tab fee, while 56 percent oppose it. But they weren't asked how they'd feel about it if they had the option of not paying it. So it's probably not a fair comparison to the $5 day use fee.

After all, the appeal of the parking fee is that it is paid only by those who actually visit parks, making it voluntary. The license tab fee, with an opt-out option, makes it voluntary, too, But the people polled didn't know that. Hence, the lower level of support, methinks.

A tax on RV's was favored by a 52-43 margin, while a 1 cent per $1,000 in value property tax was not favored. It was 50 percent against, 46 percent in favor.

The poll was among 500 Washington voters, conducted April 4-5 by Moore Information of Portland, Ore.

Here is the cover letter:

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