Finance Minister Zeev Sharef announced today an increase in the purchase tax on a number of durable goods and in the travel tax. The move was necessitated, Mr. Sharef said, by the falling reserves of foreign currency. The tax will be imposed mainly on imported goods such as cars and television sets, which accounted for almost 20 percent of the increase in consumer spending last year. If imports continue at the present rate, he said, the tax increase will bring in $20 million. If, as expected, imports drop, it will represent a large saving in foreign currency.
Cars, on which Israelis pay one of the highest duty rates in the world, will go up an average of another ten percent. Television sets, priced at about $400, will cost an additional $40-60. Prices will also go up for tape recorders, record players, air conditioners, vacuum cleaners and similar goods.
The travel tax will increase $60 in addition to the previous flat rate of $60-70 and an additional 7.5 percent of the ticket price. As the increase is in the purchase tax and not customs duty, prices of imported and locally produced goods will rise equally.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
