Treasury proposes 1.5% income tax raise in budget

The Ministry of Finance has released the draft state budget and the Economic Arrangements bill for 2013 -2014. The measures include what the ministry itself calls the biggest spending cut ever imposed.Among the main steps are a 1.5% rise in income tax for all tax brackets; a 1% rise in VAT to 18%; and the imposition of national insurance payments and health tax on non-working women. The rise in income tax is expected to bring in over NIS 4 billion and the rise in VAT a similar amount.Other proposals are higher taxes on luxury goods, and abolition of the VAT exemption for tourism services.