In May alone, a record deficit of NIS 17.9 billion was recorded • State revenues plunged by 23.1% • Corona struggle budget: NIS 100 billion

• NIS Illustration // Photo: Gettyimages

In May, the Treasury alone recorded a record deficit of NIS 17.9 billion for one month. In terms of the annual deficit product, over the past 12 months, the increase has risen by 1.2% of GDP, reaching a peak of 6% of GDP. This translates into a record deficit of more than NIS 83 billion.

Miraculously, the annual deficit overlaps the spending budget that the government has pledged to fight Corona, before the corona budget grows to NIS 100 billion. This is according to data published by the Ministry of Finance. Continuing with the tradition led by the creative director general, Shai Babad, the deficit announcement was published around 7 pm when the economic newspapers were already closed.

The cumulative deficit since the beginning of 2020 jumped to a record NIS 46.2 billion, more than three times the budget deficit recorded in the corresponding five months in 2019. It should be emphasized that we are still in the first five months of 2020, when the Bank of Israel estimates that the total deficit in all 2020 will jump to an all-time high of more than More than 11% of GDP is more than NIS 150 billion.

Miraculously, the annual deficit overlaps the government's and Treasury's commitment to spend NIS 80 billion in the fight against the Corona virus. And this is even before Finance Minister Israel Katz's decision to increase the expenditure on the Corona by NIS 20 billion, to a total of NIS 100 billion.

According to the data, because the corona expenditure was approved without financing sources and without sources in the state budget - and this requires the accountant to take out loans in Israel and abroad to finance the expenditure on the corona: Domestic borrowing in May, living at a record amount of NIS 18.2 billion. In May, bond issues were NIS 19.9 billion. Additional receipts for the Corona crisis were NIS 19 billion.

Government spending in May was NIS 40.6 billion, of which NIS 37.2 billion was government expenditure, and NIS 31.3 billion by the civilian ministries, and NIS 5.9 billion by the defense establishment. Since the beginning of 2020, government spending has swelled to NIS 172.5 billion, of which NIS 149.2 billion has been allocated to government ministries, and NIS 12.3 billion has been allocated to dealing with the Corona crisis.

In tax collection, in May, following the Corona crisis, there has been an avalanche along the entire front, beyond what was expected at the beginning of the crisis. Total state revenues plummeted by 23.1,.