Court Cancels 19-Year-Old Property Tax Debt and Bank Account Seizure in Northern Israel Case

A northern Israel resident discovered in May 2025 that his bank account was frozen due to an alleged outstanding property tax debt related to a business he closed 19 years earlier. The man had operated a grocery store in a rented property from 2000 to 2006, after which he ceased business and relinquished the premises. Despite this, the Gilboa Regional Council imposed a lien on his account for approximately 163,000 shekels, claiming unpaid municipal taxes from those years.

The former business owner, represented by attorneys Wisam Muktarn and Amir Atrash, filed a petition in June 2025 challenging the council's actions. He argued that the debt had expired under the statute of limitations and that he had never received any payment demands or notices regarding the debt until the account seizure. The council countered that it had taken multiple collection actions over the years, which reset the statute of limitations, including sending warnings, issuing liens to banks, and attempting to seize movable property in 2021, though the petitioner refused to sign the lien form.

Judge Einav Golomb ruled in favor of the petitioner, finding that the debt had indeed expired. The court noted a lack of continuous collection efforts between August 2013 and February 2021, except for a single recorded phone call in 2018, which was insufficient to reset the limitation period. The judge ordered the cancellation of the lien on the bank account and required the council to pay the petitioner’s legal costs of 10,000 shekels.

Attorney Wisam Muktarn emphasized that local authorities must act within the seven-year statutory period to collect debts and that failure to maintain consistent enforcement allows residents to petition courts to cancel expired debts and related collection measures. He highlighted the importance of continuous enforcement actions to prevent debt expiration.