Minister of Finance Abraham Hirchson told the forum of Knesset committee chairpersons today that the government had no plans to raise taxes either this year or next. He said he suspended discussions on the 2007 budget until after the war and an evaluation of its results. “There is no point in submitting an unfinished product to the government,” he said. The forum is monitoring the government’s handling of communities in the north, including tours of the areas.
In response to demands to suspend the Bank of Israel ordinance for arranging bank credit until a set date, Hirchson said, “I have taken this matter into consideration. I will study the request and weigh my response.”
Hirchson disclosed that the Ministry of Finance had set up a special team of senior officials and outside economic figures to formulate post-war economic policy. “The team’s goal is to deal with macro and microeconomic problems to the economy and communities. The team comprises the best brains who are already thinking about what to do, with a focus on reconstruction aid for the north.”
Hirchson said the war and its repercussions required new thinking on economic policy. He emphasized that economic priorities after the war would be different from those prevalent before it.
Hircshon said all the Ministry of Finance’s measures were designed to compensate victims of the war beyond direct damage as quickly as possible. “Israel must demonstrate to the world, especially foreign investors, that this is a country with a stable economy able to survive the crisis and immediately after the war continue to develop and function normally.”
Hirchson said transactions had been made with foreign investors during the war, and he emphasized that the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) was demonstrating stability.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on August 8, 2006
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