Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked is opposed to fair rent legislation. At a press conference she held today, Shaked spoke out against fair rent bills being promoted by several members of Knesset, most prominently by MK Stav Shafir (Zionist Union). Yesterday, the discussion in the ministerial legislation committee on a bill by Shafir and Roy Folkman (Kulanu) was postponed.
"I won't allow a bill to be promoted just for the sake of it. The way these bills look at present, they will be more of a curse than a blessing," Shaked said today.
The first section of the fair rent bill concerns the setting up of a rent registry. "I won't agree to that," said Shaked, "This government and I as part of it are constantly working to simplify the bureaucracy and do not wish to set up another commission, with more state employees and more procedures."
Shaked expressed adamant opposition to rent controls. "It has been demonstrated in countries in Europe that such control only leads to higher prices," she said, "There is an idea to give a reduction in betterment tax to anyone who freezes rent rises, and that's an idea that is being considered, but the Tax Authority still does not support it and this too is a complicated regulatory procedure."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 11, 2016
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