A decision of the Economic Committee of the Israel Cabinet to levy 150 pounds ($83) fee on exit visas, compared to the present fee of five pounds ($2. 80) created a public uproar in Israel today.
The proposed increase, aimed both at reducing travel abroad and at providing additional tax revenue of 4,500,000 pounds annually, would normally be implemented by the Ministry of the Interior which is responsible for immigration matters.
However, Israel Bar Yehuda, Minister of the Interior, publicly declared his opposition to the new levy as most of Israel’s influential newspapers blasted the proposed fee increases. A typical editorial appeared in Haaretz with the headline, “Israel Is Not Jail.”
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