State Budget Deficit Rises to 3.3% of GDP in October

In depth

The state budget deficit rose to 3.3% of GDP in October, according to Finance Ministry data. The monthly deficit stood at about NIS 18.3 billion, compared with about NIS 15.2 billion in October last year. The deficit over the past 12 months rose by about 0.1 percentage points.

Since the beginning of the year, tax revenues totaled NIS 503.3 billion, compared with about NIS 457.6 billion in the same period last year, an increase of about 10%. In October alone, state tax revenues stood at about NIS 46.2 billion.

Expenditures since the beginning of the year totaled NIS 551.1 billion, an increase of about 4.2%, and defense spending rose by about 9.9%. Since the beginning of the year the deficit is about NIS 24 billion lower than in the same period, but the pace of government spending is beginning to accelerate, and if the government uses the full budget and its revenues meet forecasts, the deficit may reach the target of 4.9%.