Even before the cabinet has set a date to discuss the Sheshinski committee recommendations to raise the government's take from oil and gas revenues, Knesset Finance Committee chairman MK Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism) today announced that the committee will discuss the issue next Monday. MKs have been pressing Gafni to hold a meeting on the matter, but he refused to do so until the committee released its final report.
"The government interests me like last year's snow. The Finance Committee will decide what to do with the report," Gafni told the committee today. However, there is no chance that the Finance Committee will not approve the recommendations, because Gafni has already repeatedly said that he supports them. At the moment, it does not appear that the committee will vote on the recommendations next week, and the discussion will only deal with the conclusions, as well as MKs reservations to them. Minister of Finance Yuval Steinitz and committee chairman Prof. Eytan Sheshinksi have both been summoned to the meeting.
In view of a request by Steinitz, the Finance Committee will probably be the committee to give final approval of the Sheshinski committee recommendations. In a letter to the Knesset a few days ago, Steinitz asked that the Finance Committee should discuss the recommendations, rather than a joint Finance Committee and Economic Affairs Committee.
Tomorrow, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to hold another discussion of the Sheshinski committee recommendations at his office. Steinitz, Minister of National Infrastructures Uzi Landau, National Economics Council chairman Eugene Kandel, and Sheshinksi will attend. Yesterday, Netanyahu said that, after he meets with all the relevant parties, including investors, he will make his decision.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 10, 2011
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