JERUSALEM, Jan 2 (NNN-INA) – The new Israeli government will soon abolish taxation on disposable plastic utensils, the Finance Ministry said yesterday, despite public health concerns.
This is one of the first two decisions taken by Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the Religious Zionist Party, after the new Israeli government was sworn in on Thursday. His other decision was to cancel the tax on high-sugar drinks.
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties, which have an important say in the far-right new coalition, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, have claimed that the plastic tax was intended to harm their communities, which consume plastic goods at high levels.
The Environmental Protection Ministry reported a 50-percent decrease in the use of plastics, four months after a tax on disposable plastics was imposed on Nov 1, 2021.
Gad Lior, a senior analyst for Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth daily newspaper, said, the potential loss in taxes as a result of the abolition is estimated at 1.2 billion shekels (340 million U.S.D).
“The cancellation of the tax on disposable utensils will harm public health and turn Israel into one big landfill,” said the Israel Union for Environmental Defence, a non-profit environmental group.
