budget deficit continued to decline to 11.2% of GDP in April - reached NIS 158.9 billion

The government deficit continues to decline, amounting to 11.2% of GDP in the last 12 months (May 2020-April 2021); This is after the first time since the outbreak of the corona crisis was recorded in March, a decrease compared to the previous month - to 12.1%.
State revenues amounted to NIS 35.5 billion in April (NIS 31.4 billion of which are tax revenues). This is about 10% of the state's revenue forecast for 2021.
The state's capital raising was (gross) in April NIS 16.8 billion in the domestic market, and NIS 400 million abroad. In April, NIS 10.3 billion was repaid from the total debt, so that the debt increased by NIS 6.9 billion. Interest payments on the debt were This month about 1.4 billion shekels.
The decrease in the deficit is mainly due to an improvement on the revenue side. Data from the Tax Authority show that the state's total tax revenue jumped by 23.4% in March 2021 compared to March 2020 - a record since the outbreak of the corona crisis.
The downward trend is expected to continue in line with the recovery rate. According to the Bank of Israel's forecast, 2021 will end with a deficit of 8.2% of GDP. The collection rate in the first quarter is also high compared to the Tax Authority's early forecast - and a collection surplus of NIS 4.9 billion was recorded. A total of NIS 92.2 billion was collected in the quarter. Most of the surplus was due to high collection in the field of finance and the capital market.
Just two months before the end of the aid programs in Corona, the realization rate of all the programs is about 70%. However, some of the plans were extended to years ahead. The lowest realization rates were among others in the field of vocational training, including funding for higher education scholarships and additional funds earmarked for the work arm. Out of a budget of NIS 1.47 billion, only about 30% was used. In addition, out of a budget of NIS 600 million for the digitization of government ministries, only 27% was used.
The state has launched assistance programs through the provision of credit, guarantees or moves to improve the cash flow of businesses. The total realization of these credit plans is 53%, out of a budget of about NIS 50 billion.
The Ministry of Finance continued to finance the deficit through debt raising. A total of NIS 44 billion net was raised in March. Debt fundraising was local. From abroad, the volume of repayments exceeded the volume of fundraising and the state reduced the debt abroad by NIS 200 million. The government's total expenditure since the beginning of 2021 amounted to NIS 159.4 billion, of which NIS 39 billion in April alone.
In the first four months of the year, government spending amounted to NIS 121.9 billion. Thus, in the first quarter of 2021 there was an increase of 20.9% compared to the corresponding period in 2020. When the expenses for dealing with the corona crisis are neutralized, there is an increase of only 3.8% compared to the first third of 2020.
An increase of 23.6% in government ministry expenditures
Expenditure by government ministries in April amounted to NIS 34.2 billion, of which NIS 5.8 billion was due to the economic plan for Corona. The expenses of the civil ministries amounted to NIS 29 billion and of the defense establishment to NIS 5.2 billion.
Since the beginning of the year, government ministry expenditures have reached NIS 138.3 billion, of which NIS 26.7 billion is due to the economic plan, an increase of 23.6% compared to the same period last year. Government debt expenditures in April alone amounted to NIS 4.8 billion and since January to NIS 21.1 billion, of which interest payments on government debt amounted to NIS 11.8 billion.
The total implementation of the special economic plan for the Corona crisis is NIS 145.5 billion, out of NIS 202.3 billion. Execution in cash and liabilities now reaches 72%.
NIS 25.5 billion out of NIS 30.9 billion was spent on health care, NIS 60.3 billion out of NIS 71.8 billion on social security, only NIS 54.7 billion out of NIS 90.1 billion on business continuity, and NIS 4.9 billion out of NIS 9.6 billion spent on planning and economic development.