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Sunday, March 23, 2014

For Lapid, it's all about Haredim and not about their army service

Some of you might recall this post, in which I reported that Finance Minister Yair Lapid wants to exempt first-time home buyers from our 18% value added tax, unless they are Haredim. Some of you actually thought this was fair - after all, why shouldn't the government give a break to those who serve in the army?

It turns out that Lapid's proposal isn't just designed to get Haredim who don't serve in the army. It's also designed to ensure that those Haredim who do serve in the army still have to pay the tax if they buy a new home. Many Haredim who serve in the army do so through the Shachar program, to which one cannot be admitted after age 22. The Shachar program only includes 16 months of active duty. Lapid's VAT concession requires 18 months of active duty (link in Hebrew).

Coincidence? I think not.

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posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 3:10 PM

1 Comments:

At 2:38 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

Remember, Lapid admitted it was designed to target Haredim solely by virtue of their being Haredim - "because their housing is cheaper anyways". However, what is interesting is that this bill also targets the Hesder yeshiva students.

 

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