Newly appointed Minister of Finance Yair Lapid held a round of meetings with senior Ministry of Finance officials, among them officials from the Tax Authority, lasting all day today. Lapid instructed them to take determined action against tax planning by the wealthy, in order to deepen tax collection and combat tax avoidance.
Despite the Passover holiday, Lapid has held a marathon series of discussions with top people at the Ministry of Finance. On the eve of the holiday, the discussions lasted into the late afternoon, and, following the cancellation of leave for ministry officials, the discussions will continue during the intermediate days of the holiday.
No decision has yet been made whether the forthcoming budget will be a regular budget or for two years. Sources in Lapid's circle explained that the minister was still studying the material, and that only after a decision is made would it be possible to go into the figures themselves and to examine what cuts should be made and where from.
In the course of the discussion, Lapid said that, in addition to the difficult overdraft picture that emerged from the budget numbers, he was concerned at the low rates of participation in the workforce among Arabs and haredim (ultra-Orthodox Jews). "These figures weigh heavily on the Israeli economy and need to be dealt with immediately," the finance minister said, adding, "No decisions have yet been made on the economic measures required. After I complete the discussions with the heads of the Finance Ministry and with the prime minister I will address the Israeli public and present to it the state of the economy and the decisions required to get it back on the right path."
Before the Passover holiday began, Lapid met Governor of the Bank of Israel Stanley Fischer for an additional work meeting and discussed with him the steps he sought to take to deal with the problems that Israel's economy faces. After that he spoke by telephone with his American opposite number, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew to discuss global economic challenges.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 27, 2013
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