Price increases forced by new tax rates in Israel’s anti-inflation policy must not be used as an excuse for unfair rises, Trade and Industry Minister Haim Zadok warned today in a radio speech.
Despite his reiterated pledge that the Government would seek to check price boosts and preserve stability, the upward pricing spiral continued unabated. New price increases, generally attributed to the new taxes announced Monday night, were being posted daily, covering a wide range of products from domestic fuel to bus fares. A 7 percent increase in freight charges, affecting all imports and exports, was announced today. Night clubs and bars announced they would raise their prices because of the increase in liquor takes.
In a pre-dawn exercise designed to prevent evasion of the new tax rates, customs inspectors descended on storehouses, gasoline filling stations and retail shops today to register stocks of cigarettes, fuel and spare motor parts. The action frustrated the last-minute rush by importers on Monday to clear goods through customs at the prior rates. In that action, importers virtually cleared warehouses of stocks.
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