In his first act in office, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Sunday asked ministry officials to roll back tax hikes on single-use plastic utensils and sugary drinks put in place by his predecessor, Avigdor Liberman.
In his first work meeting as finance minister, Smotrich instructed officials “to prepare orders as soon as possible in the coming days to remove the tax on single-use plastic utensils and the tax on sugary drinks. imposed by the outgoing government,” the finance ministry said. .. in a statement.
Smotrich told officials at the start of the meeting that he had “great confidence in them and their staff.”
“There will be an open and thorough dialogue between us, and business decisions will be made to boost Israel’s economy for the benefit of all Israeli citizens,” he said, according to reports in several Hebrew media outlets. .
Ultra-Orthodox Israelis perceive the tax hikes – aimed at preventing health and environmental damage – as targeting them in particular, because of their addiction to these products.
Haredi lawmakers hailed Smotrich’s decision, after repeatedly railing against the taxes and demanding during coalition talks that the government roll them back.
According to the Israel Tax Authority, the removal of the charges will result in an annual loss of NIS 1.2 billion ($340 million) in tax revenue for the Treasury.
New Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, left, shakes hands with outgoing Minister Avigdor Liberman during a handover ceremony at the Finance Ministry in Jerusalem, January 1, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/FLASH90)
United Torah Judaism MK Moshe Gafni hailed the decision to rescind “the Liberman tax.”
“It was one of our promises to do immediately with the establishment of the government, and I’m very happy about that,” he said.
UTJ MP Uri Maklev said that once the tax is cancelled, “we will act in public campaigns and education to protect the environment and consume healthy drinks”.
The decision, however, was rejected by former environmental protection minister Tamar Zandberg, who accused the government of “allowing petty politics to destroy the environment and health”.
“Instead of moving forward, this decision sends us back light years away,” Zandberg said, adding that the decision “would only contribute to pollution and disease.”
Israel’s Environmental Defense Union also blamed the decision “for harming public health, and more so, decrees that the State of Israel will become one big dump.”
The Israel Association of Public Health Physicians called the rollback “unfortunate and indiscriminate” and said that despite claims that the tax targeted ultra-Orthodox, “data from the finance and health ministries indicate that the tax has led to a drop in consumption”. [of sweetened drinks] for the benefit of Israelis, including the ultra-Orthodox population.”
Teacher. Nadav Davidovitch, head of health policy at the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies, told the Kan public broadcaster: “It’s not a Liberman tax and it’s not anti-Haredi, it’s pro-Haredi. It’s a shame that politicians are playing a cynical game with people’s lives.
The outgoing ministers held handover ceremonies on Sunday with their successors in the newly sworn in government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Outgoing Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman, right, speaks to incoming Minister Bezalel Smotrich during a handover ceremony at the Finance Ministry in Jerusalem on January 1, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/FLASH90)
During his meeting with Smotrich, Liberman warned that the role of the Ministry of Finance was not just to “guard the coffers” but to generate revenue to create a track that will allow more freedom to act in budgetary decision-making. .
Liberman appeared to refer to coalition agreements signed by the new government that are expected to increase social benefits for ultra-Orthodox, who have low employment rates.
Smotrich promised largely continuing the free market policies undertaken by his predecessor, and “increasing competition as much as possible”.
“I’m not sure all of our stages will be popular, but hopefully they will prove to be correct over time,” he said.
Smotrich takes over from Liberman with Israel’s economy expected to slow significantly this year and the rising cost of living, driven by housing and energy prices. Prices for a range of essential services and products got up at midnightoverwhelming consumers with steep increases in the price of gasoline, water and electricity, as well as other items.
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