Government will compensate Businesses up to 40 KM from Gaza strip for damages linked with the war

The Minister of Finance, Israel Katz, announced that he had agreed with the Director of the Tax Authority on the outline of compensation for indirect damages due to Operation The Wall Guard. This means that gates in the south, such as Ashkelon, Sderot and Beer Sheva, will receive compensation, but the Gush Dan and Shefela areas will not receive any compensation, even though they have received rocket fire.
The compensation will be given to businesses for a decrease in business turnover or for wages paid to employees who are absent due to the security situation. Businesses in the Gaza Envelope area that are 7 km from the Gaza Strip will receive increased compensation. The regulations are expected to be approved by the Knesset Finance Committee as part of specific regulations.
Businesses within a range of up to 40 km from Gaza lectures. Businesses in the Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Beit Shemesh and even Rishon Lezion areas, which were hit by heavy missiles during the crisis and caused heavy damage to businesses, will not receive compensation. This distance range was also during Operation Eitan.
The selected business owners will be able to choose one of two routes that the Treasury calls the "green" routes. The first route is a request for compensation for damage to the cycle of activity due to the security situation. The total compensation will not exceed NIS 1 million. The comparison will be against business revenue in 2019. The second route will be compensation for wages. A business that continues to pay wages to employees who are absent due to security restrictions will be able to receive from the state the wage refund it paid.
In both tracks, compensation will only be given to businesses that had employees who were absent from work in accordance with Home Front Command guidelines, according to which it is not possible to stay in a workplace without protection or in a closed building with more than 100 people. Compensation will also be given if these are employees who were absent from work in light of the fact that they are parents who were forced to care for their children under the age of 14 due to the closure of education systems, or those who were forced to care for a person with a disability.
These routes will not be given to residents of Gush Dan or Jerusalem, although the education system was closed in these areas due to Home Front Command guidelines, and workers were forced to be absent from their workplaces.
The Office of the Minister of Finance announced that an option for additional routes is being examined, such as a route for compensation for current expenses for operational damage caused, as well as an option for designated compensation for plots.
Business owners who are up to 7 km from the Gaza Strip border can choose one of the green routes, or switch to a red route in which they will receive compensation for loss of profit resulting from indirect damages that will prove, and depending on the nature of the business. For employees who are absent due to Home Front Command instructions or parents of children.
The Finance Minister's Office clarified that in parallel with the indirect compensation for Operation Wall Guard, the grants will continue within the framework of the economic safety net for Corona. However, these grants will be cut by 50% compared to previous months.
Today, the Manufacturers' Association estimates that the damage to businesses following the operation amounts to NIS 1.2 billion. According to the union's estimates, the main damage was caused by declining productivity and non-arrival of workers. According to the association's data, during the operation, about 35% of the workers in the southern region and about 10% of the workers in the central region were absent due to the missile threat.
The president of the Manufacturers' Association, Dr. Ron Tomer, said that "the government should ensure a regular compensation outline for businesses affected by the fighting. It is not possible that in every round of fighting, the issue of compensation for businesses will be reopened and create chaos and uncertainty. "