A bill sponsored by Shas MK Yoav Ben-Tzur was discussed in the Knesset Finance Committee this week, a bill seeking to expand the current law which does not demand shuls pay arnona property tax to yeshivos and kollels too. MK (Yahadut Hatorah) Uri Maklev decried the fact that in too many cases, shuls are not receiving the deductions on arnona that they are entitled too and this too has to be corrected.

At present, if a shul is used for davening only, then it is not required to pay arnona but shuls used for shiurim as well are required to pay arnona. The new bill seeks to include all shuls in the category of being exempt from the annual property tax.

According to Maklev, there are literally dozens of shuls which are not receiving the exemption they are entitled to, explaining “City Halls are more interested in money than in doing the correct thing”.

Ben-Tzur is working to take it a step further, that all shuls we be viewed as the same, all exempt from arnona as the bill, if passed into law, would also include yeshivos and kollelim.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)