The cabinet meeting on the 2015 budget scheduled for next Thursday has been postponed. The full cabinet will probably convene to discuss the budget for the first time on September 16, five days later than planned. The reason for the postponement is the absence of agreement between Minister of Finance Yair Lapid, Minister of Defense Moshe Ya'alon, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the amount of the deficit and the defense budget supplement, reflecting profound differences in their budget concepts. RELATED ARTICLES Lapid: I won't stay in gov't that raises taxes Defense Ministry demands NIS 20b budget supplement Lapid, Flug entrenched in opposing positions In order to hold the September 16 meeting, the Finance Ministry will have to distribute its proposed budget bill at least a week ahead of time to enable the ministers to read the bill and study its content. At least two meetings will probably be needed to in order to approve the bill. Given the fact that the High Holy days start this month, the time available to the government to discuss the bill is getting short. Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 4, 2014 © Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2014
