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VAT value added tax

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends a Finance Committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem on May 26, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
June 2, 2026, 6:48 am
Knesset revokes Smotrich’s order expanding personal import tax exemption to $130
Finance minister rails at MKs for ‘hurting the pockets of Israeli citizens,’ as members of ruling Likud party help defeat measure they say harms local industry; tax-free limit reverts to $75
By Ariela Karmel
Illustrative: Amazon packages move along a conveyor at an Amazon warehouse facility in Goodyear, Arizona, December 17, 2019. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
February 25, 2026, 10:23 pm
Ad hoc tax changes for overseas online orders cause confusion for Israelis about charges
Consumers may face VAT charges on their purchased orders after Knesset revokes tax exemptions; finance minister hours later signs a new order to expand exemption on personal imports
By Sharon Wrobel
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich leads a Religious Zionism faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, January 5, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
January 7, 2026, 5:01 pm
In rare move, Knesset panel moves to overturn Smotrich’s $150 VAT exemption order
Likud elements led by Finance Committee chair MK Hanoch Milwidsky argue that doubling VAT exemption on personal imports from $75 penalizes local businesses
By Ariela Karmel
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich holds a press conference on raising the tax exemption on personal imports to $150 at the Finance Ministry in Jerusalem, December 23, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
December 23, 2025, 6:50 pm
‘It can be cheap here’: Smotrich raises VAT exemption on overseas orders to $150
Finance minister says move will lower cost of living, free Israelis from exploitation by monopolies; businesspeople protest, saying it’s a ‘death sentence for small businesses’
By Sam Sokol and ToI Staff
Finance Minister and Head of the Religious Zionist Party Bezalel Smotrich leads a faction meeting at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, November 17, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
November 26, 2025, 3:56 pm
VAT exemption on personal imports to rise from $75 to $150
Treasury says aim of Smotrich’s move is to reduce cost of living, remove power from alleged monopolies that keep consumer prices higher than most of Europe; public has 21 days to comment
By Sam Sokol
Buying vegetables at an Osher Ad store in Jerusalem, August 12 2021 (Sue Surkes/Times of Israel)
February 14, 2025, 4:57 pm
Israeli inflation jumps to 3.8% in January as VAT and utility costs rise
Consumer prices also increased last month as government tax hikes came into effect, upping the costs of food and other goods
By Sharon Wrobel
Illustrative: New Israeli shekel bills, September 24, 2023. (Hadar Youavian/ Flash90)
December 31, 2024, 11:41 pm
Financial blows take effect on January 1, ushering in an expensive 2025 for Israelis
Tax hikes set to see paychecks shrink, while VAT, electricity, water and property tax rates are slated to rise
By Sharon Wrobel and ToI Staff
United Torah Judaism MK Moshe Gafni chairs a meeting of the Knesset Finance Committee, December 16, 2024. (Noam Moskowitz, Office of the Knesset Spokesperson)
December 17, 2024, 10:32 pm
Knesset panel passes 2025 tax hikes set to hit working people in their pockets
Finance committee approves Jan. 1 tax measures, including VAT hike, increase in National Insurance payments, and freeze on income tax brackets to rein in ballooning war costs
By Sharon Wrobel
People shop at the Mahane Yehuda Market in central Jerusalem on July 7, 2023 (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
July 4, 2024, 10:44 pm
Higher VAT hurts poor and fuels inequality, Treasury report shows ahead of tax hike
Value Added Tax, levied on goods and services, is set to rise from 17% to 18% in January 2025 to help the government rein in a ballooning budget deficit amid growing war costs
By Sharon Wrobel
Passengers at the arrival hall in the Ben Gurion International airport near Tel Aviv on February 6, 2023. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
February 20, 2023, 7:05 pm
Tour operators urge Finance Ministry to keep VAT waiver for tourists
Tourism Industry Coordinating Office sends letter warning that ending waiver would be ‘damaging and irreversible’ to industry, economy and Israel’s international image
By Stuart Winer
Illustrative: Amazon Prime boxes are loaded on a cart for delivery, October 10, 2018, in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
November 29, 2019, 6:58 am
With free shipping to Israel, Amazon has expats filling up their carts again
Americans once despondent over having to settle for what’s on offer locally are now luxuriating in imported toilet paper, scented garbage bags and anything else on offer under $75
By Jessica Steinberg
Illustrative. A criminal in handcuffs. (Yakobchuk Olena/ iStock, by Getty Images)
January 16, 2018, 9:11 pm
Police arrest 29 accused of massive billion shekel fraud
Suspects allegedly issued fictitious receipts for construction work, and claimed back the VAT from the government
By ToI Staff
Egyptian President Abdel -Fattah el-Sissi delivers a televised speech on May 17, 2016 (screen capture)
August 13, 2016, 2:38 pm
Sissi says Egypt will not balk at economic reforms
Country’s economy has been battered since 2011 uprising, ushering in unrest that has driven away tourists and foreign investment
By AFP
From the WebMarch 14, 2016, 9:19 am
Bill imposes VAT on foreign cos selling online in Israel
Globes: Next on tap for the Israeli tax man – digital goods sold by foreign web sites
Doing taxes (Pixabay)
December 24, 2015, 6:50 pm
Israeli tax burden not too onerous after all, report shows
The OECD reveals that Israel’s taxes are lower than industrial world’s average, while confirming that its salaries are too
By David Shamah
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