Hundreds of business owners from across the country arrived at the Knesset throughout Monday to protest Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s order to raise the VAT exemption ceiling on personal imports to $150 from $75.
The finance minister’s move is said to be aimed at lowering the cost of living in the country, though critics say it will harm local businesses. The government approved Smotrich’s order on Sunday, but it still must be finalized through a vote in the Knesset plenum, scheduled for late Monday night. The vote was reportedly delayed amid negotiations.
Smotrich addressed the plenum ahead of the final vote, calling on the public to “follow who is voting for you and who is voting against you.”
“If, heaven forbid, the order is canceled in the plenum, I will sign a new decree, because I am determined to fight the high cost of living,” he said.
The protesting business owners participated in various committee meetings throughout Monday to encourage Knesset members to vote against the order.
A group of coalition Likud lawmakers has spoken out against the move, along with opposition MKs.
Knesset Finance Committee chairperson Likud MK Hanoch Milwidsky has criticized Smotrich’s decision. Business owners attended his committee meeting in demonstration on Monday.
Likud MK Eli Dalal also attended the panel, vowing to do everything he can to cancel the proposal. “It will be canceled today,” he said.
“We think this is a very bad proposal,” Milwidsky told the panel.
“It’s a slap in the face to businesses,” he noted, and said that he had attempted to discuss the matter with the finance minister, which was not helpful.
“The minister’s method for action [...] is very simple: he constantly threatens to dissolve the government, as if there is no Iran, as if there is no Gaza.
“There is a large party here representing a significant portion of the public, with national responsibility. Time and again, we concede to his whims. We go along a path that is not the Likud’s path. This law is not the Likud’s path,” Milwidsky added.
“The big players don’t care, but it will hurt all small businesses and manufacturers,” he said.
Large businesses take part in a protest against Smotrich's tax reform
A self-employed business owner told the panel that if the proposal wasn’t canceled, the government would be “ issuing a death sentence for many business owners.”
“[Smotrich] wants us to close our businesses, strengthening the strong and finishing off the rest of us. It’s Purim, and we can’t sell costumes; everything comes from AliExpress,” the business owner noted.
After the government approved Smotrich’s order on Sunday in an initial vote, the finance minister stated that the country “took another step proving that things can be cheaper here.”
“The approval of the order I signed, which has already come into effect, provides it with backing and strengthens the move,” he added.
“We can already see the impact: more purchases, more competition, and lower prices. The goal is clear: to turn every citizen into an importer and expand competition in the market. I thank Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the partnership. It can be cheaper here, and we are proving it,” Smotrich said.