In a session of the Knesset Finance Committee on the state budget yesterday, Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich dismissed fears raised by, among others, the chief economist at the Ministry of Finance Shira Greenberg, who warned in February that the fallout from the government’s judicial overhaul might require a revision of the revenue assumptions in the budget. "Our revenue forecast is realistic," Smotrich said. "I don’t want to get into a panic about a decline in investment in high tech. There is a decline, but it is happening all over the world, because the period of cheap money is over. But even if there is a decline or damage to startups because of the reform, that won’t mean a decline in state revenues in the 2023-2024 budget period." RELATED ARTICLES Israel's slips into fiscal deficit Netanyahu, Smotrich reject Moody's criticisms Moody's cuts Israel's credit outlook Treasury chief economist warns on judicial reform risks Smotrich also commented on the downgrading of Israel’s rating outlook by credit rating agency Moody’s on Friday. "It’s not a big drama," he said, "the outlook fell from ‘Positive" to ‘Stable" in 2020 as well, and rose back again in 2022." Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on April 17, 2023. © Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2023.
