Hebrew daily “Yediot Ahronot” reports that the Ministry of Finance plans to make another tax cut in the near future, if possible. In the past few days, Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu, ministry director general Dr. Joseph Bachar, and consolidated tax division director Eitan Rub have said the tax cut would be part of the 2004 fiscal year.
Netanyahu commented on the matter at a Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce conference in Tel Aviv. "We have a surplus of tax receipts, and we'll use them to cut taxes and reduce the deficit. There will be another tax cut soon," he said. Netanyahu promised the Chambers of Commerce that company taxes on profits would also be cut.
Netanyahu said the more the Ministry of Finance reduced the tax burden, the more the state would collect in taxes. "We're in a situation in which we're reducing the tax burden, but still collecting high tax receipts. This process also encourages growth," he said.
The Ministry of Finance plans to raise the income tax threshold, which is currently less than NIS 4,000 a month, to increase the number of people exempt from paying income taxes. The ministry also plans to lower the company tax by 1% a year from the current 36% to 32% or 30%.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on March 22, 2004