Newly sworn-in Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich on Sunday instructed his staff to prepare for the cancellation of the taxes on disposable tableware and sweet drinks that were implemented by former minister Avigdor Lieberman.
Smotrich had already announced in the past, even before the elections, that he’ll revoke the taxes if he’s elected. “The taxes on disposables and sweet drinks will be canceled unequivocally, there’s no question about it at all,” Smotrich said last month in an interview on Radio 103FM.
Finance Committee chairman Moshe Gafni responded to the announcement by stating:
“I congratulate Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich for his first decision in the ministry to cancel the ‘Lieberman Tax’ on disposable utensils and sweetened drinks, which was intended to harm the Chareidi sector. This was one of our commitments that we said we’ll implement immediately upon the establishment of the government.”
MK Uri Maklev commented on the decision: “These taxes did not come to help the public but only as a negative unprofessional decision intended to harm the public. We congratulate Finance Minister Smotrich for canceling this tax as we committed in the coalition agreement.”
“This action brings the new government’s policy to work for the citizens and not against them. Now, that the order is canceled, we will take action via educational means to preserve the environment and encourage the consumption of healthy drinks.”
Outgoing Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg (Meretz) responded to Smotrich’s decision by saying: “The new government is allowing petty politics to destroy the environment and health. Instead of moving us forward, this decision is setting us back light years.”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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7 Responses
lieberman into the garbage can….doesn’t deserve a capital ‘l’
High taxes on cigarettes definitely contribute to their decreased use, while allowing people to still purchase them legally. By indirectly lowering smoking rates, the government not only helps individuals who would otherwise have smoked more, but also lowers the ongoing national healthcare cost that every single citizen – smoker and non-smoker – pays for all of the terrible consequences down the line. Treating people with smoke damage costs all Israelis much more money than the tax itself raises.
Taxing sugary beverages, which of course contributes to obesity, dental decay, and a million other problems, saves all citizens, “drinkers” and non-drinkers, from paying astronomical costs in terms of healthcare and, eventually and of course much more importantly, human life cut short by obesity and its many healthcare consequences.
Why are they changing this?! So people will drink more Coca Cola, get more cavities, and gain another few pounds they didn’t need? Was this government paid off by the soda lobby? or by the dentists lobby? Please someone explain what’s happening…..
Stupid. Everyone I knew here cut way back on disposables and sugary drinks. Now he’s given the green light to go back to using them full on. For vus? We actually had made great strides in reducing plastic usage. Dumb, dumb is all I can say
great!!
Here in Canada there is no such tax at all (except starting in 2022 for one small population province) yet the per-capita consumption of most of such type of drinks for the past 20 years reduced anyway (replaced by “flavoured” drinks rather than sugared drinks). The tax itself is mainly regressive – the real point is whether access to “healthier” options are made more readily available.
Smotrich צדיק גמור for mass increasing עונג שבת
M, this is what “religious” issues have come to. By the spring, it’ll be time to resurrect the daylight saving time acrimony.