Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced today (Tuesday) at a press conference to conclude the first quarter of 2022 a reduction in the excise tax on fuel and diesel, which will translate into the final price of a reduction of half a shekel per liter of fuel, against the background of continued cost of living. The Finance Minister’s decision was made possible following the increase in state revenues in the last quarter and thanks to the high growth figures of the Israeli economy, it should be noted that this is a temporary move for a period of three months until fuel prices moderate.
“The first quarter is important and encouraging and I hope it is a sign of things to come,” Lieberman said in his opening remarks. “If I look at the macro, unemployment has dropped to 3.2%. “The deficit – it will more or less stand at 1.5%. This also indicates the economy, which is currently growing.”
The minister referred to the pressures exerted on him to lower the excise tax recently, including on the part of the Governor of the Bank of Israel Amir Yaron and clarified: “I get all kinds of advice from the Tribune, either they try to guess or they do not listen, Decisions were made on the basis of data alone. It was necessary to see that the picture stabilized, that we could make an informed assessment of both fuel prices and the state of the Israeli economy. To 112 “.
Fuel prices are expected to fall, Photo: Jamal Awad / Flash90
“Right now we are in a good position, as with the work grants we gave, if there is a possibility to do good with the people and it is possible to return money to the public then we have to do it. On public transportation. “
“It is fair that companies return the money”
Finance Minister Lieberman went on to attack the largest companies in the economy: “The companies have published annual reports for 2021, those traded on the stock exchange, and it’s a bit of a smile. “Looking at their annual reports, Brill’s net profit is NIS 49 million in 2021 and in Mashbir NIS 25 million, far beyond what they had in previous years. I am in favor of a liberal free economy but also in favor of fairness.”
“Isrotel, they have a profit of NIS 255 million as they published, and I also remember their demands and they also received a grant in the order of NIS 12 million,” Lieberman continued, “the CEO’s salary, about NIS 8 million with all the bonuses . “The same for a company like Diplomat, with a net profit of NIS 90 million, with the CEO’s salary reaching almost NIS 25 million. Fairness and visibility here must also be very important.”
Lieberman was asked if he thinks the companies should return the money they received as a grant from the state and replied: “Absolutely. I talked about fairness – we expect, certainly and certainly from a company that earns over 200 million shekels, to return the same grant it received. I wish them another successful year but really “A little fairness. The legislation does not have the ability to take the grant back by force, it is possible to apply pressure, but I am first and foremost building on the good in a person.”