Israel's 2025 budget: Smotrich announces changes to how budget built, work to start this week

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced Sunday a number of significant changes in how Israel’s 2025 budget will be built compared to how the country’s budgets are normally determined and said that talks on the budget would be held directly after the Shavuot holiday.

Per the minister’s instructions, presentations on the budget will be held over two focused days instead of over the course of months. From the start of the process, the governor of Israel’s central bank will participate.  

Smotrich said the budget must focus on moving the country from war to growth by emphasizing high-tech, the real estate market, integrating different populations and increasing productivity in the labor market, fighting the black market to increase the tax base, absorbing immigration, and more.

The budget’s guiding principles will be fiscal conservativeness, responsibility, efficiency, flexibility, and transparency, he said. The minister anticipated that the budget would include significant cuts to many ministries.

How the war is impacting economic decisions 

“The continuing war and its impact on the economy force us to show discipline and fiscal responsibility, as well as full transparency about the data and the process by which policy is formed and decisions are made,” said Smotrich.

“I expect my friends in the government and coalition to understand how serious the situation is and help carry the stretcher. I intend to help them to do this by giving them greater authority and flexibility to manage the budgets that remain in their hands,” he added.