XE.com - TABLE-Israel posts Feb budget deficit 3 bln shekels

March 7 (Reuters) - Israel posted a budget deficit of 3 billion shekels ($789 million) in February due

to a decline in tax income, the Finance Ministry said on

Wednesday.

For the first two months of the year, Israel accumulated a

surplus of 3.52 billion shekels.

(millions of shekels)

Feb 2012 Jan-Feb 2012 2012 Target

Revenue 18,995 44,039 271,152

Expenses 21,676 39,537 284,767

Surplus/Deficit* -3,033 +3,520 -18,400

*-excluding credits granted

-- Income from taxes alone totalled 16.8 billion shekels in

February, down 5.5 percent from February 2011. Tax income was up

6.3 percent to 39.9 billion shekels in the first two months of

the year..

-- Israel aims for a deficit target of 2 percent of GDP but

the Finance Ministry has said it would likely be around 3.4

percent due to an expected shortfall in tax income stemming from

slower economic growth this year.

-- The deficit in 2011 was 3.3 percent of GDP, above a

target of 2.9 percent but below 2010's deficit of 3.7 percent.

($1 = 3.80 shekels)

(Reporting by Steven Scheer)

Keywords: ISRAEL DEFICIT/TABLE

(steven.scheer@thomsonreuters.com)(+972 2 632 2210)(Reuters Messaging: steven.scheer.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)

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Source: http://www.xe.com/news/2012/03/07/2523177.htm?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=TL&utm_content=NOGEO&utm_campaign=News_RSS_Art7

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