Israel Official Says Tax Burdens to Remain Heavy, Even with Cease-fire

Avraham Agmon, Director General of the Finance Ministry, observed in a speech prepared for delivery tonight that even if the cease-fire were to continue for a long time Israelis would have to bear very heavy defense expenditures. Although Finance Minister Pinhas Sapir has defined the 1971-72 budget as “facing the peace,” Agmon noted, defense costs eat up 80 percent of Israelis’ taxes and will probably continue to do so for at least the next few years. The 43-year-old Agmon, a former Budget Director, stressed the “financial and security assistance of the Jewish people in the diaspora and friendly governments.” He noted that the United States’ report on the utilization of foreign aid lists Israel along with South Korea and Nationalist China as the countries that have made the most efficient use of such aid. His statement came as President Nixon proposed in his 1971-72 budget an increase in funds for foreign military aid sales specifically to include Israel.