Steinitz, Fayyad agree on transferring goods, taxes
By JPOST.COM STAFF
08/01/2012 01:43
The objective of the arrangements is to better facilitate the movement of goods and reduce illegal trade and tax evasion.
Finance Minister Steinitz and PA PM Fayyad Photo: (Moshe Milner/GPO
Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on
Tuesday agreed on arrangements for transferring goods between Israel and the
Palestinian Authority and the related tax procedures.
The objective of
the arrangements is to better facilitate the movement of goods and reduce
illegal trade and tax evasion.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu praised
the plan, saying, “The new arrangements are part of our overall stated policy to
support the Palestinian society and to strengthen their economy, and will
hopefully further our relations with the Palestinians in other areas as
well.”
The plan will allow the Israeli and Palestinian tax authorities to
employ advanced technologies for monitoring and exchanging information on goods
transfers instead of calculating tax clearances on reported transfers, as is
currently done. The plan also aims to establish Palestinian storage facilities
and construct pipelines for the safe and exclusive transfer of petroleum
products from Israel to the PA.
“The cooperation between our two tax
authorities will assist in fighting tax evasion, in increasing the revenues of
the Palestinian Authority from the proper collection of taxes and in reducing
illegal trade,” Steinitz said.
Fayyad added that “these arrangements will
also improve the economic relations between the Palestinian Authority and
Israel” and expressed gratitude toward Steinitz and Netanyahu for their efforts.