The government deficit is expected to be much lower than the original target of 4.65% of the GDP. The Ministry of Finance reported today that, in November, there was a fiscal deficit of only NIS 700 million.
Between January and November, the government deficit totaled NIS 18.9 billion, compared with NIS 26.2 billion for the corresponding period of 2012. The cumulative deficit for the last 12 months dropped sharply in November and totaled NIS 31.7 billion, 3% of GDP.
Total expenditure (not including principal repayments) totaled NIS 22.6 billion in November. Of this, spending by ministries totaled NIS 21.3 billion, and interest payments (plus principal repayments to the National Insurance Institute) totaled NIS 1.3 billion.
Since the beginning of the year, spending by ministries totaled NIS 219.6 billion, up 5.7% from the corresponding period of last year. This compared with a planned 8.8% rise in the budget that was approved for 2013. Spending by civilian ministries rose 7.4% compared with the previous year, and defense spending rose 1%.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 9, 2013
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2013