Kahlon Tax Plan to Benefit Middle Class

Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon plans on reducing taxes for middle income earners, Yisrael Hayom reported over the weekend. On Motzoei Shabbos, Kahlon said in an interview on Keshet that Israelis earning more than NIS 10,000 would get a tax break in order to assist them in making ends meet. “We intend to reduce taxes and duties on imports, and allow more imports, in order to lower the cost of living, and we are also lowering income taxes for the middle class that is truly collapsing under the burden of expenses, and which is paying too much tax,” Kahlon said.

According to Yisrael Hayom, income taxes will be cut by between 1 percent and 3 percent in the current tax year, with further reductions in future years. The tax cut, which will affect hundreds of thousands of earners, will cost the state NIS 5 billion. Kahlon is also said to be planning benefits for the many wage earners who make less than NIS 10,000 a month.

Previous reports had said that the Finance Ministry was planning to cut taxes for Israelis earning between NIS 20,000 and 30,000 a month. Speaking last week, Kahlon said “we will soon reduce taxes. We will find a way reimburse the public the money that has been gathering in the public coffers. When the public debt is low and the economy is strong, as is the situation now, that is the time to help the citizens.”

According to the Ministry, there is between NIS 17 and NIS 30 billion available for programs to reimburse the public. “Money must be out in the market, not buried in an account, in order for it to work,” said Kahlon. “Our plan is to return money to the public, to the young couples and the middle class. We will do this in a responsible manner. I expect our national debt to go down next year, as the economy further grows.”