Finance Committee removes Kohelet from list of nonprofits to receive tax benefits
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
The Kohelet Policy Forum, the institution that formulated the ideological foundations for the government’s radical judicial overhaul program, is removed from a list of 138 Israeli nonprofits approved for tax benefits by the Knesset Finance Committee.
A nonprofit’s approval under section 46 of the Income Tax Ordinance means that donors to the organization will be able to receive tax credits for their donations.
Kohelet’s removal from the list ahead of its approval by the committee comes as it undergoes pre-approval vetting by the Tax Authority, which is currently looking into the allegations leveled against it in recent days by lawmakers claiming that the conservative organization is involved in prohibited “partisan political activity.”
Addressing the committee, a representative of the Tax Authority says that it only received some of the claims against Kohelet on Sunday and that it requires “a short time to prepare and respond with an organized and detailed answer.”
“Over 10,000 Israelis contributed lately to Kohelet Policy Forum, and many more have requested we pursue Section 46 tax-exempt status for donations,” a spokesman for the organization tells The Times of Israel.
“This status is granted on a regular basis to comparable organizations, and we meet all the eligibility criteria. We operate as a nonpartisan conservative pro-liberty think tank, and any efforts to silence our voice will not succeed. We trust the Knesset Finance Committee will evaluate our application fairly and grant the status we qualify for when it is put up to a vote.”