Israeli super-model Bar Refaeli today testified in her appeal of her tax assessment by the Israel Tax Authority. She is appealing the assessment for her income in 2009-2010, at which time she claimed exemption from taxation in Israel on the grounds of residing in a foreign country.
Refaeli, who was investigated for evading taxes on her income from overseas work, is suspected of making false representations to the Tax Authority in claiming to have resided abroad for years, while actually living in the YOO towers and the W tower.
It is suspected that the contracts for Refaeli's apartments were signed with her brother and mother in order to conceal the fact that she was living in Israel, and that she thereby evaded tax on income totaling tens of millions of shekels during those years.
Bar Refaeli and her mother, Tzipi Refaeli, were arrested and questioned in early 2016 on suspicion of not reporting all their income to the authorities, and with making false representations to the tax assessor concerning Bar Refaeli's residence.
Bar and Tzipi Refaeli are also suspected of receiving benefits granted to celebrities, such as housing, use of cars, and celebrity discounts amounting to more than NIS 1 million, which they did not report as income.
In the remand request submitted to the court, the Tax Authority Tel Aviv investigative tax assessor stated that the question of Refaeli's residence was of material consequence to the taxation of her income, and that income amounting to tens of millions of shekels derived from the suspect's overseas work had not been reported.
Published by Globes [online], Israel Business News - www.globes-online.com - on June 21, 2017
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