The government aid program for dealing with the coronavirus crisis will be expanded from NIS 80 billion to NIS 100 billion, the Ministry of Finance announced on Friday. For this purpose, the government will again have to amend The Basic Law: The State Economy, which will require a majority of 61 members of Knesset. Finance for the program will be via further expansion of the fiscal deficit, which was already expected to reach 10.2% of GDP by the end of this year. RELATED ARTICLES Israel's budget deficit widens to 4.8% Moody's raps Israeli government on the knuckles The additional program will include a grants fund for encouraging employment and a credit fund for businesses at high risk. A further part of the new program is measures to improve the efficiency of the economy, among them accelerated connection to fiber-optic networks; promotion and planning of infrastructure projects; expansion of the digitization of public services; improvement of online health services; assistance for technology-intensive companies; and assistance for small businesses to install EMV payment terminals. According to figures published by "Globes" last week, the government has so far spent NIS 7.7 billion on aid to businesses affected by the coronavirus crisis. Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on May 10, 2020 © Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2020
