Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz
Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg
Gov't approves bill calling for biennial State budget
Cabinet backs Finance Minister Steinitz' amendment to State Budget Law; new system will bolster Israel's financial stability, he says
The government on Sunday voted in favor of Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz proposal to permanently enact a biennial Sate budget.
According to the proposal, an annual budget would be used only on election years and in cases of an economic emergency.
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Steinitz' bill, promoted as an amendment to the State Budget Law, will be presented for a Knesset vote within 45 days.
The amendment will also change several articles in Basic Law: The Knesset.
"Instating a biennial budget supports an increased state of fiscal certainty in the government and in the market and will have a beneficial effect on both bodies working with the government or those who are supported by it," the Treasury said.
"This move will also bolster Israel's fiscal credibility in the business sector as well as vis-à-vis international financial elements."
"Global financial bodies, such as the OECD and the International Monetary Fund, have ruled that maintaining a biennial budget has stabilized government expenditures and has bolstered the Israeli market's resilience."
Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said: "Israel has become the first nation in the world to enact a biennial budget, with the exception of an election year. This is a revolutionary reform, which is enthusiastically backed by the OECD and the IMF."
Avital Lahav contributed to this report
