2025 State budget passes final vote

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(A7) The Knesset plenum approved today (Tuesday), in its second and third readings, the State budget for 2025, which will amount to approximately NIS 619 billion.

66 MKs voted in favor of the budget, while 52 lawmakers opposed it.

The defense budget will amount to approximately 110 billion NIS, the Ministry of Education budget will be approximately 92 billion NIS, and the Ministry of Health budget will be approximately 60 billion NIS. The budget also includes expanding the envelope for reserve service members and reconstruction and development budgets for the northern and southern regions.

Last week, the Knesset plenum approved the state budget frameworks and state budget targets for implementing economic policy for the 2025 budget year, during which it was determined that the deficit ceiling will be 4.9%.

The approved budget frameworks include budgetary adjustments totaling approximately NIS 35 billion, including spending cuts and tax increases, for the purpose of reducing the deficit and preventing an increase in the debt-to-GDP ratio in order to restore normalcy to Israel’s economy and stabilize the country’s credit rating.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said: “The State budget we passed today is a responsible and good budget, which provides a response to all the needs of the war on the frontlines and in the homefront until victory, while continuing to invest in infrastructure that encourages growth and reflects the fiscal responsibility required in times of war. At its heart is extensive support for reservists and their families and investment in renewed construction and development momentum in the combat zones in the north and south.”

“Within the budget, we increased support for growth engines such as a program to accelerate high-tech and a program to accelerate the real estate market. The State of Israel is facing the longest and most expensive war we have ever known, and we are, thank God, up to the task – supporting all war efforts, placing reservists at the top of the priority list with a NIS 9 billion envelope program, and managing Israel’s economy responsibly.”