On average, Israelis paid 20.6% in direct taxes, 13.4% in income tax and 7.6% on health and national insurance taxes.
Lapid and Steinitz at Finance Ministry handover 370(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post)ByNIV ELISSeventeen percent of Israel’s population paid over three-quarters of the direct taxes in 2008, while about half fell below the income-tax threshold, a report by the Finance Ministry’s State Revenue Administration revealed on Sunday.The report – which used data from 2008, the last year of complete available data, and modeled estimates for 2011 and 2012 – found that the overall greatest contribution to the state’s direct tax revenues came from the second- highest tax bracket, in which 6.4% of the population paid out 30.9% of the total.Only a third as many people – 1.8% – paid into the top-tax bracket, but the higher rate meant they represented 27.2% of the overall direct taxes collected.Fully 43.7% of the population fell into the lowest tax brackets of 10% or less, and represented a mere 2.4% of the tax revenue.The number of people who, due to the tax structure and various benefits given based on family status, fell below the income-tax threshold was 52.2% in 2010, 49.7% in 2011 and 52.3% in 2012.On average, Israelis paid 20.6% in direct taxes, 13.4% in income tax and 7.6% on health and national insurance taxes.Post-tax inequality according to the Gini index had dropped 2% in 2008, though it saw no such improvements through 2011, and experts expected similar stasis for 2012.The report also showed a wide gender gap in income in 2008. On an hourly basis, women earned 21% less than men, though that figure did not account for differences in position or seniority. That figure was down from 36% in 1985, but exhibited no improvement over the previous decade.Because men worked an average of 10 hours a week more than women, that gap increased to a net of 68% more in monthly income for men.The progressive-tax structure narrowed that amount to 50.8% in 2011, the report said, and men’s income tax rates were on average double those of women. All these factors also led to smaller degrees of inequality between women than between men.RECOMMENDED STORIESIranian rocket falls in Tel Aviv in latest barrage, at least 63 wounded, one killedJUNE 12, 2025Israel trying to persuade US to join in continuing strikes on Iran, sources tell 'Post'JUNE 13, 2025Vacation ruse, phantom trip, hostage decoy: How Israel misled Tehran before Iran strikeJUNE 13, 2025Mossad leads series of secret attack operations in heart of IranJUNE 13, 2025