Governor of the Bank of Israel Stanley Fischer has called for the state's take from future revenue deriving from oil and gas discoveries to be raised. Speaking at an economic conference in Jerusalem, Fischer stressed the impact of the gas discoveries on Israel's fiscal position.
"The gas is the problem of the next two weeks, but also of the next decade, when it will start to affect our fiscal position," he said. "A situation in which the state receives only a third of the gas profits is not reasonable; we must change it."
Fischer also said that it was not possible to exempt the Tamar discovery from the recommendations of the Sheshinski committee on the taxation of gas discoveries, and said that Israel's citizens should enjoy a larger proportion of the revenue. "It is not possible to exempt what has already been discovered, because then the situation will not change in the coming decades," Fischer said.
Fischer also leveled criticism at the aggressive campaign by the gas companies against the Sheshinski committee, and at the threat not to develop the Tamar field if the discovery is not exempted from the committee's recommendations. "I respect the gas entrepreneurs, and they have the right to try to influence the outcome, as long as they behave in a civilized manner. They do not have the right to try to impose a veto on the government's decision.
"We must not allow interested parties to interfere with the committee's work with irrelevant arguments, and the Israeli public must not be allowed to be affected by them," Fischer said.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 12, 2011
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