Israel’s fiscal deficit fell in August, for the second successive month. The cumulative deficit for the twelve months to the end of August amounted to 4.7% of GDP, or NIS 98 billion in absolute terms, according to figures released by Accountant General Yali Rothenberg today. For the twelve months to the end of July, the deficit was 4.8% of GDP.
For August itself, the deficit was NIS 9.5 billion, an improvement on August 2024, when the monthly deficit was NIS 12.2 billion.
In the first eight months of 2025, the fiscal deficit was NIS 46.7 billion, which compares with a deficit almost double that, NIS 84.3 billion, in the corresponding period of 2024, at the height of the war in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.
The improvement in the deficit mainly derives from state revenues, and not from the expenditure side. Total state revenues for the first eight months of this year were NIS 367.6 billion, 16.7% more than in the corresponding period of 2024. August itself was a strong month from this point of view, with revenues of NIS 43.9 billion, versus NIS 37.4 billion in August last year.
On the expenditure side, the government spent NIS 53.4 billion in August this year, NIS 3.8 billion more than in August 2024. In the first eight months of 2025, government spending amounted to NIS 414.3 billion, which compares with NIS 399.5 billion in the corresponding period of 2024, representing a 3.7% rise. According to the budget plan, government spending was supposed to have been static, and even fall slightly.
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on September 8, 2025.
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