Israel Tax Authority arrests online traders

computer  photo: Shutterstock
computer photo: Shutterstock


Two Israeli online traders who failed to report their income were arrested as the Tax Authority targets ecommerce.

The Israel Tax Authority has recently been targeting unreported online capital, and has begun to arrest suspected evaders of tax on income from ecommerce. The Tax Authority yesterday arrested two Israelis suspected of not reporting millions of shekels in income from online sales. The arrests are the first in an intensive investigation being conducted by the Tax Authority into failure to report ecommerce income.

A cooperative effort by the Tel Aviv investigative tax assessment office and the Tax Authority computer auditing and intelligence sections in the Tax Authority succeeded in assembling a list of Israelis deriving income from the Internet without reporting it to the tax authorities.

The suspects are Assam Salma, 56, from Beer Sheva, an employee of Ben Gurion University of the Negev, who operates a website dealing in online games for children, and Alexander Belvy Hirsch, 42, from Rishon Lezion, who is suspected of selling rare coins and antiques to collectors on the eBay website.

Salman is suspected of amassing NIS 3 million in unreported income in 2010-2015 from the sale of advertising space on the website he operates, which provides online games for children. His home was searched, and documents and computer materials were seized. Salman was questioned, as were his son and daughter-in-law, who are suspected of involvement in unreported business activity.

Hirsch is suspected of amassing NIS 800,000 in unreported income in 2010-2015 from the sales of coins on eBay. The arrest request for Hirsch indicates that he worked as an employee in 2012-2014, and is not currently officially employed.

The Tel Aviv Magistrates Court yesterday ordered the release of Salman and Hirsch under restrictive conditions.

Published by Globes [online], Israel Business News - www.globes-online.com - on July 18, 2017

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2017

computer  photo: Shutterstock
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