Hoteliers Warn They May Rehire Palestinians Because of the Levies

The Finance Committee on Wednesday held a heated discussion about foreign worker levies in the hotel industry and called on the Finance Ministry to align the amounts with those charged in other sectors of the economy. The session was led by MK Eti Atia of Likud, chair of the Special Committee for Foreign Workers, who stressed the gaps in costs.

During the discussion, it emerged that the foreign worker levy in hotels is tens of percent higher than in most sectors, with hoteliers paying 11,320 shekels a year for each foreign worker, compared with 8,490 shekels in other industries. A recommendation by the directors-general committee, which operated under a government decision, called for cutting the levies by 50% across all sectors.

Hagar Sharan, CEO of the Israel Hotel Association, argued that without a reduction, hoteliers will have to return to employing Palestinians because of the high costs. "My chambermaid is no more skilled than a porter or dishwasher in another sector." Representatives of other associations joined the call and stressed the impact on the cost of living.

By contrast, Finance Ministry representative Rom Bar Av explained that levy revenues go into the state treasury and are used for services to citizens, and that any reduction requires an alternative budget source. The ministry said the directors-general committee's recommendation for a general reduction amounts to nearly 1 billion shekels without funding, and that the cost of changing the regulation for hotels alone is estimated at about 20 million shekels.

Atia concluded the discussion by demanding that the Finance Ministry work to equalize the levy amounts in the hotel sector with those in other sectors, and asked for a response within a week. She also said she would ask the chairman of the Finance Committee to hold an urgent discussion with the finance minister before the Knesset is dissolved, regarding a reduction in the levies across all sectors.