Given the lack of agreement between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Finance Yair Lapid on the 0% VAT bill and the state budget, Lapid said today that his Yesh Atid Party did not want elections. At the entrance to the Tel Aviv location of the party meeting summoned by Lapid, he said that it was important to pass the 0% VAT bill without raising taxes. "We won't create a coalition crisis. I don't think elections are good for Israel right now. I think the political situation of recent days and the past 24 hours requires responsibility and stability from us, and that following the prolonged war, the government should continue working on behalf of the people, the middle class, the economically disadvantaged, and people in need of tranquility, education, welfare, health, life, housing, and 0% VAT on housing."
Lapid added, "We won't raise taxes; those are our red lines on this table, of Yesh Atid. We're unwilling to put our hand into Israelis' pockets again; we're unwilling to exploit the Israeli taxpayer milch cow in order to solve the country's problems. That won't happen, and if they try to force us, we won't be in the government. At the same time, we don't want a cabinet crisis. I don't think that elections are a good thing for Israel right now.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 18, 2014
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