The Cabinet today approved a bill providing for the exemption of prospective immigrants building homes in Israel from the payment of luxury tax on dwellings exceeding 125 square meters in area.
Also exempt from the luxury tax under the terms of the bill will be immigrants who build dwellings within three years after their arrival in the country. The final draft of the bill is now being drawn up by the Interior Ministry and will then be introduced into the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament. The bill has the dual purpose of encouraging immigration from affluent countries and of relieving the slack in the building trade. The luxury tax ranges from 54 pounds ($18) to 210 pounds ($70) a square meter.
At a press conference following the Cabinet meeting, the Cabinet secretary declined to answer a question as to whether the exemption will be available only to those officially registered as immigrants or will also be available to those bona fide immigrants who prefer to retain their status as temporary residents.
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