The government will out another billion Pounds of this year’s IL 56,3 billion budget in an effort to cut down the growing deficit, Finance Minister Yehoshua Rabinowitz told Labor Alignment members of the Knesset Finance Committee today. His surprise announcement came only a day after Rabinowitz told newspaper editors that “several economy measures were under active consideration” to keep the budget deficit within the IL 1,6 billion limit originally envisaged. There were several previous cuts, made after long bargaining with government ministries, each eager to preserve its budget intact.
Rabinowitz explained that the cuts were necessary because of the planned direct tax reform, which was expected to cause an immediate loss of IL 750 million in this year’s State revenues, (see story on P. 4.) It is assumed that the Housing Ministry would have to bear most of the budget cuts because of the low demand for housing, caused mainly by the decrease in immigration. At the meeting between Rabinowitz and the Alignment MKs, it was reported that some 4000 completed apartments were standing empty because they were originally intended for immigrants who did not come. Some MKs suggested they be handed over to young couples who live in inadequate housing.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
