"Our job is to provide you with an economic Iron Dome that you can rely on," said Minister of Finance Yair Lapid today on a tour he made with senior Ministry of Finance officials of Sderot and settlements bordering the Gaza Strip. "The southern settlements, among them Sderot, are under constant fire, including a Kassam rocket that greeted us as we entered the town. You are the strong home front of the State of Israel," he said.
Lapid detailed the benefits that have been and will be given to those who have been in the line of fire for three weeks. "We have given small businesses in the south an extension to pay their taxes and make their income tax and VAT returns. For those who live up to 40 kilometers from the Gaza Strip the due dates have been extended to 25 July, and if necessary we will give a further extension. Of course, anyone who has received a reservist's call-up will receive individual treatment for any problem arising from doing reserve duty."
Lapid declared that the Ministry of Finance would pay compensation early to southern residents. "Our decision is not to wait until the end of the operation, but to give immediate compensation to make things easier for people in the south," he said. "Together with Minister of the Interior Gideon Sa'ar, we have decided to allocate another NIS 15 million to immediate security needs for settlements in the line of fire. This is in addition the first NIS 15 million that we allocated last week at the start of the operation. This is money that will serve various needs, such as renovating shelters, activities in the shelters, and recruiting dedicated manpower for this period."
After listing other monetary assistance and accelerated procedures being provided for southern settlements, Lapid said, "The Ministry of Finance is here, on the ground, and is dealing with, and will deal with, everything that requires it. This is our obligation and this is our contribution at this difficult hour."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 21, 2014
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