By The Jerusalem Post (World News) | Created at 2024-10-30 16:20:05 | Updated at 2024-10-31 01:28:10
9 hours ago
A 10% increase in benefits for olim will be worth less.
By ELIAV BREUER OCTOBER 30, 2024 18:02
Olim on the 64th Nefesh B’Nefesh charter flight pose with organization’s Co-founders Rabbi Yehoshua Fass and Tony Gelbart; Minister of Aliyah and Integration, Ofir Sofer; and Director-General of the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, Avichai Kahana.
(photo credit: SHACHAR AZRAN, YONIT SCHILLER)
Israel's economic plans for the 2025 budget, which were published early Wednesday morning, include a provision that limits the package of benefits for new immigrants (olim) to those whose financial assets amount to less than NIS 500,000.
The provision, called "Progressiveness in Aliyah Integration," in parallel raises the benefits for those with less than NIS 500,000 by 10%. It is expected to save the state NIS 100 million in 2025 spending, according to the economic plan.
The benefits for olim currently include a ten-year exemption from most individual and corporate taxation earned outside of Israel. They also include an exemption from disclosures and reporting requirements, a one-year acclimation period during which new immigrants can choose not to be considered Israeli residents for tax purposes, and a reduced real estate purchase tax.
The Knesset Aliyah and Integration Committee held an "emergency" meeting on Wednesday morning to discuss the measure. Committee chairman MK Oded Forer (Yisrael Beytenu) called for the measure to be removed, since "its meaning is blocking olim from coming to Israel." According to Forer, investments in olim amounted to investments in growth, and placing conditions on the benefits package for olim "shows complete disconnect and potentially harms aliyah."
"The state of Israel is an open home for aliyah for any Jew and not just for populations with low socio-economic status, including well-off and educated populations, who can enrich Israeli society in a variety of ways."
Adv. Avichai Kahana, Director General of the Aliyah and Integration Ministry, also opposed the bill, saying that it was "born in sin."
Aliyah Ministry will not be able to operate basic programs
"The Jews of the world are experiencing antisemitism that hasn't been seen for decades, and this has led to an increase in the number of Aliyah requests to Israel. In this period especially, the benefits package should be enlarged," Kahana said.
He also addressed general cuts in his ministry's budget in 2025, and warned that it will "not be able to operate the most basic programs."
"We will not be able to continue integrating new olim into the state of Israel with a low budget that is missing NIS 170 million," Kahana said.
Kahana's response indicated an unusual lack of communication between the aliyah and the finance ministries, despite both ministers, Bezalel Smotrich and Ofir Sofer respectively, coming from the same party (Religious Zionist Party).
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The economic plan will be debated by the government in a marathon debate beginning on Thursday and likely to last until Friday afternoon, and it is unclear whether or not the measure will be approved. Even if it is, the measure will still need to make its way through Israel's legislative process in the Knesset, and Members of Knesset may attempt to amend it.
