Israel to Halve Fuel Tax Break, Raising Gas Prices
Translated & summarized from Ynet by baba
Israel's Ministry of Finance will halve its gasoline tax discount starting Wednesday night, raising prices by 0.50 shekels per liter to 7.85 shekels. The current discount of 1 shekel per liter expires November 5. The new measure aims to keep prices near current levels, preventing a record high. The tax breaks over three months will cost the state approximately 593 million shekels.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Israel's fuel tax discount will be halved starting Wednesday night, raising prices.
- Gasoline prices will increase by 0.50 shekels per liter to 7.85 shekels.
- The current 1 shekel per liter discount expires on November 5.
- The new measure aims to prevent gasoline prices from reaching a record high.
- The tax breaks over three months will cost the state 593 million shekels.
Israel's Ministry of Finance plans to extend a discount on gasoline prices but will reduce it by half. The current reduction in excise tax on gasoline, set to expire on November 5, will be replaced by a smaller discount. While Minister Bezalel Smotrich still needs to sign the order, it is not expected that he will oppose it.
The new reduction will lower gasoline prices by 0.50 shekels per liter, compared to the current 1 shekel per liter discount. Consequently, the price of gasoline, which was set to be updated to 7.35 shekels per liter at midnight on Saturday, will rise to 7.85 shekels per liter starting Wednesday night. Without this intervention, the price of gasoline would have reached an all-time high of 8.35 shekels per liter on November 5.
The Ministry of Finance stated that while a moderate decrease in fuel prices is anticipated in November, "without further intervention in the excise tax, it will not be possible to maintain the price level close to that of the recent period." The new reduction aims to "reduce the price of gasoline and keep its price level close to that of the recent period."
This tax break comes at a significant cost to the state. The Ministry of Finance estimates that the revenue loss from the new reduction in excise and blue taxes will amount to 136 million shekels. This figure is in addition to previous revenue losses: 175 million shekels from a prior emergency order and 282 million shekels from the order preceding it. In total, the tax reductions over the past three months will cost the state 593 million shekels.
