Tax Authority eases filing burden on small business owners
Reform aims to help identify companies eligible for negative income tax, tackle bureaucracy.
By NIV ELIS
The Israel Tax Authority on Thursday eased tax regulation on small business owners, making it easier for new businesses to file their taxes.Instead of the lengthy process reserved for larger businesses, business-owners who make NIS 60,000 or less a year will be able to file a simple, one-page form.The goal of the reform is to make it easier on new or struggling businesses, but it would also make it easier for the authority to identify companies eligible for negative income tax (earned income tax credit) and make the bureaucratic process more efficient.When it comes to paying taxes, the World Bank ranked Israel 93rd in its 2014 rankings.According to the report, Israelis businesses spend 235 hours a year on paying taxes, 60 more than the OECD average.The report found that Israeli businesses must make 33 tax payments each year, as opposed to an average of 12 in the OECD.There are exceptions for who will be eligible to file the simpler filing system. Those whose companies operated at a loss, shareholders, trust beneficiaries, foreign residents, partners and those seeking tax refunds will have to use the old system.Still, some 70,000 small business owners will be able to take advantage of the abbreviated form.