Israel Tax Authority head Moshe Asher believes that the cost of Operation Protective Edge has been about NIS 4.5 billion so far and he told "Channel 10" that he will make every effort not to raise taxes but he could not promise that it would not happen.
Asher said, "Preliminary estimates talk about NIS 4.5 billion in damage in terms of lost GDP." He calculated that this would translate into NIS 1 billion in lost taxes."
He said, "Even before the fighting we saw a slowdown in the economy and Operation Protective Edge is now added to this. We have our finger on the pulse to see where the trend is leading. Direct damage is estimated at about NIS 50 million."
When asked if there will be tax hikes he said, "The compensation fund which finances compensation separately from the regular budget accrues about NIS 1 billion each year. At the moment it has NIS 5.5 billion. Direct damage will come from that fund. We has Iron Dome which kept the home front strong and saved us direct and indirect damage to the economy."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 5, 2014
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