Tzipi Livni's Hatenua party proposes switching from a uniform VAT rate to differential rates. Following the publication of Latet - Israeli Humanitarian Aid Alternative Poverty Report, Hatenua chairwoman Tzipi Livni today presented part of her economic plan for after the elections, which includes switching from a uniform VAT rate to differential VAT rates.
"We oppose Netanyahu's wild market, in which the government abandons all responsibility for the people, and we also oppose the monopolies, and government intervention and regulation where this is unnecessary, and a return to the old, problematic socialism presented by the Labor Party," said Livni at a press conference.
Livni added, "We believe that equal burden is not merely a slogan, but also a source of revenue. The moment that the shirkers go out to the labor market and the moment that we reduce welfare payments to those groups that do not really need them, these people can join the labor market and society, and will be a source of revenue. We believe that peace is a budget source and not just a goal. We will change the government's distorted and dismal priorities. We will continue to strengthen the settlement blocs, but we won't spend unnecessary funds for settlements which we know will not remain there. Equal opportunity requires fundamentally changing the priorities, and we need leadership that is prepared to take the decisions needed and that carry a political price."
MK Amir Peretz said that the Alternative Poverty Report was a "sledgehammer blow", and added that the Hatenua party was working hard on a comprehensive economic plan. "This will be a plan which will be practical and won't be a utopian fantasy," he said in a barb aimed at Labor Party chairwoman MK Shelly Yachimovich. He added that the Hatenua party favored switching from a uniform VAT rate to differential rates. "A person who buys a Subaru will pay 10% VAT and a person who buys a Mercedes will pay 20% VAT," he said.
Commenting on the Alternative Poverty Report, Likud-Yisrael Beitenu said, "This to too serious a problem to be used for cynical politics as Yachimovich has done."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 18, 2012
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