As tax collections rebound, Washington state’s projected $9 billion budget shortfall is cut in half

Federal stimulus money pumping through parts of Washington’s economy. Loosened business restrictions. A spike in cannabis sales. An improvement in the real-estate market.

Those factors have — at least for now — improved tax collections and slashed by half what had been a projected $8.8 billion state budget shortfall through 2023, according to a state economic forecast released Wednesday.