The treasury on Monday, 26 Iyar 5773 announced its proposed state budget for 2013-2014 is ready. Copies were distributed to cabinet ministers. Finance Minister (Yesh Atid) Yair Lapid calls for cutting 6.5 billion NIS in 2013 and an additional 18 billion NIS 2014. The budget proposal also calls for an increase in income tax of 1.5% and value added tax by 1% to 18%. There will also be an increase in taxes on cigarettes and alcoholic beverages as well as an increase in corporate tax to 26%. Housewives, who are covered by their husbands today will have to begin paying for Bituach Leumi (National Insurance Institute) and for kupat cholim health coverage.
The plan also includes a 1.5 billion NIS cut in the education budget every year and an almost NIS 2 billion NIS reduction a year in child benefits. The Transportation Ministry budget will be cut by 1.2 billion NIS at the expense of planned roadways and improvements.
Chareidi lawmakers are outraged over the proposed budget, will deliver a fatal blow to many many large families, who barely manage to survive under today’s economic realities. Prof. Shlomo Mor-Yosef, who heads Bituach Leumi, warns that if the current budget is approved ‘as is’, at least an additional 40,000 families will join the ranks of those living under the poverty line.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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4 Responses
1. In response to “Chareidi lawmakers are outraged over the proposed budget, will deliver a fatal blow to many many large families, who barely manage to survive under today’s economic realities. ” — We’ll manage. The living standards of Israeli hareidim, while perhaps lower than in America, are radically higher than the historic standards. Kidnapping all the children for three years and sending armed soldiers to close the yeshivos might be fatal – but less welfare from the zionists would be at most an inconvenience.
2. The combination of austerity and tax increase might not be advisable since at present the Israeli shekel is appreciating rapidly against the dollar, pound, yen and euro. Such appreciation has some very bad macroeconomic effects on Israel.
Charedi lawmakers will deliver a fatal blow?
Wasn’t haman also a finanace minister?
Putting all religious aspects a side for a moment, this gentleman wants higher taxes on nearly every aspect of the economy and society. Outrageous! The (what I already consider) socialized tax system needs to tax the population even more. What a way to grow the Israeli economy. Destroy religious life followed by destroying the economy.