JNF taxed on forest

For the first time in Israel, a regional authority has demanded arnona (local property tax) from the Jewish National Fund (JNF) for a forest. The JNF has petitioned the Jerusalem Court for Administrative Affairs against the levy.

In January, the Matte Yehuda Regional Council, west of Jerusalem, sent a tax bill of NIS 10 million to the JNF for an 836-dunam (209-acre) forest, after the council classified the area as recreational land and levied a tax of NIS 12.34 per dunam (NIS 49.36 per acre).

The JNF argues in its petition that it does not pay arnona on the forests, because local authorities do not consider the agency as the "owner and user of the forest" in the sense of municipal ordnances. The JNF's forests are public land, open to the general public, and the JNF is a public agency that holds land in trust for the public. The JNF says that its forests and parks, which were developed with the support of the Jewish people worldwide, are recreation sites for benefit of the country's residents and serve as green lungs for their wellbeing, as well as contributing to the environment.

The JNF also noted the tax assessment failed to mention precisely which forests were being taxed. It petitioned the court for an injunction ordering the Matte Yehuda Regional Council to suspend the tax bill until the court ruling on the case.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 17, 2009