Israel's annual budget soars above NIS 110.5 billion, breaking records
The central cause of the major increase was largely attributed to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and related expenses.
By CODY LEVINEIllustrative photo of Israeli money(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
Israel's annual budget has hit a record NIS 110.5 billion (32.8 billion USD), accounting for 8.2 percent of the country's GDP, according to a report by Finance Ministry released on Sunday.The report noted that figures were taken between September 2019 and August 2020, which accounts for much of the period of the coronavirus lockdown and subsequent government spending that accompanied managing the crisis.Over the first eight months of 2020, Israel's budget deficit reached an estimated 87.5 billion shekels. In contrast, approximately NIS 29.2 billion was spent over the same period.The central cause of the major increase was largely attributed to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which began to impact Israel by last February.In the month of August, NIS 17.3 billion was spent by the government, which is three times higher if compared to the same period last year. Similarly, government revenues have dropped over the same period, reaching a total of NIS 205.5 billion, a decline of 10.3 percent. Overall government expenditures have totaled NIS 292.9 billion, with 35.5 billion earmarked for various coronavirus-related expenses, accounting for an increase in expenditures of 13.4 percent.
