Deputy Budget Director Eyal Epstein, considered the department's most experienced man, has been ousted from his post.
Yesterday, "Channel 2 News" reported that Ministry of Finance officials planned to oust Epstein for allegedly making wrong forecasts about the government's revenues in 2012. The revenues projections were made in the second half of 2010 for the biennial budget.
Epstein had no role in making these projections. On the contrary, he warned then-Budget Director Udi Nissan, who was responsible, against them. Nissan was succeeded by Gal Hershkowitz.
In the past two years, Epstein tried to correct and revise the revenues projections to make them more accurate. But he only succeeded in January 2012, and then only for the projection itself, and in the middle of the year, in terms of actual policy in the form of the tax package which the cabinet passed.
Epstein was also accused of leaking to the media reports about Israel's tottering fiscal condition, which turned out to be true, when the Ministry of Finance announced earlier this month that the 2012 deficit was NIS 39 billion - more than double the target.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 28, 2013
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