Ben-Moshe trying to save Africa-Israel deal from Tax Authority

Moti Ben-Moshe
Moti Ben-Moshe

Moti Ben-Moshe and Africa Israel have filed an urgent court petition against a Tax Authority assessment.

Moti Ben-Moshe is trying to save the debt arrangement he reached with creditors of Africa-Israel Investments Ltd. (TASE:AFIL) against the threat posed by the Israel Tax Authority. Ben-Moshe and Africa-Israel today filed an urgent petition at the Tel Aviv District Court "for restraining orders against the Tax Authority in order to prevent it from thwarting the company's recovery."

The petition describes how a few days before the filing of the debt arrangement for Africa-Israel (ownership of which the arrangement will transfer to Ben-Moshe) to the court, the company received a tax assessment from the Tax Authority saying it owes NIS 245.5 million in taxes in respect of a NIS 737 million profit from Africa-Israel's first debt arrangement with its creditors in 2010.

In the opinion of Ben-Moshe and Africa-Israel, the tax assessment order is "unfounded, seeks to deny the agreement reached with the Tax Authority (issued as a tax ruling) concerning the 2010 debt. Under this agreement, implementation of the provisions of the 2010 debt agreement will not generate any tax liability whatsoever." The petitioners emphasize that in 2016, the Tax Authority issued an assessment under which the company owed no tax, but that it has now been decided to reverse this ruling. Ben-Moshe and Africa-Israel are therefore petitioning the court for a ruling that Africa-Israel's taxable income for 2010 and the tax on it are zero, and that the Tax Authority's new ruling on capital gains and payment of tax are null and void. The petition by Ben-Moshe and Africa-Israel cites several legal precedents.

Published by Globes [online], Israel Business News - www.globes-online.com - on February 1, 2018

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2018

Moti Ben-Moshe
Moti Ben-Moshe
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