Government assistance: Maximum assistance of NIS 600,000 for businesses damaged by at least 35%

The Ministry of Finance will assist in a particularly limited program with the exception of the self-employed who were partially injured as a result of the spread of the Omicron strain in the past two months. The pressure of small and medium-sized self employed businesses did not seem to help.
Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced in the Knesset that the outline formulated by the Ministry of Finance to assist small and medium-sized businesses up to a turnover of NIS 60 million per year will be limited and will include maximum assistance of NIS 600,000 only for businesses damaged by at least 35% of turnover compared to the corresponding months. The comparison to the requests for assistance - in a plan that will still require legislation - will be based on a comparison between the months of January-February 2022 and January-February 2019.
It is estimated that there are only a few thousand individual businesses that will meet this criterion mainly in the cultural, tourism and food industries (restaurants, cafes, bars). In the past, businesses have been compensated for losses and declines in turnover of 25% or 40%, depending on the period of the corona crisis.
The assistance this time will be given in only one payment, including a social grant / grant participating in fixed expenses (previously two grants were given for these areas), an employment incentive grant (employee retention) and a tax exemption.
New businesses opened since 2020 will set base cycles for them as was customary in previous waves of illness, according to the economic aid plan, as determined by the tax authority for each business individually.
According to the President of the Chamber of Tax Advisers, Yaron Gindi, who advised the Ministry of Finance on the wording of the plan, the calculation will be made according to the business turnover in January and February 2022 compared to the base turnover to be determined as follows:
The Ministry of Finance stated that the implementation of the outline in a simple manner and without unnecessary bureaucracy this time, "will allow the flow of aid and oxygen to businesses that have been significantly harmed, in order to keep those businesses alive as growth engines of the economy."
Minister Lieberman stated that he would like to thank Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Deputy Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Deputy Prime Minister Avir Kara, "for resisting the pressure and supporting the responsible line that I am trying to lead."
The Minister of Finance noted that the data show that the damage to the economy is particularly low, with the use of credit cards increasing since the beginning of the year and VAT advance payments proving that most of the economy was not harmed and business profits even increased during the Omron months.
Referring to the demands to lower the tax on fuel, Lieberman said that "lowering the excise tax on fuel now is like doing plaster on a wall in the middle of a strong earthquake. You have to wait for the situation to moderate before taking any steps, and take a deep breath." In doing so, the minister responded to pressures from politicians and social movements who demanded that the increase in fuel prices be moderated through tax cuts.
Rami Beja, chairman of the Histadrut's Independent Forum, said in response to the outline that "each time an outline is announced instead of understanding that compensation should be regulated as a permanent safety net."
Advocate Roi Cohen, president of Lahav - Chamber of Independent and Business Organizations in Israel, said in response that "the self-employed are not a tool to put out fires in the coalition, the self-employed and business owners are legally entitled to 25% reduction according to the 'Strong Cliff' outline. Stop with the tricks and tricks. Why was December 2021 not included in the compensation outline in which the harm to businesses began? The hand is always clasped towards the self-employed. "Once again we encounter a policy of decision-making that is not based on familiarity with the world of the self-employed and business, and this is what creates the disconnect from the self-employed public who have been living on a roller coaster and uncertainty for two years."
Meanwhile, as part of the Ministry of Finance's economic plan to lower the cost of living, a series of orders were published today for the abolition of tariffs, including:
Elimination of covers of 12% on all imported furniture products - and in particular beds, sofas, chests of drawers, chairs, cabinets and more. The size of the furniture market in Israel is estimated at NIS 7-8 billion, and the Treasury claims that the abolition of customs duties is expected to reduce its price to the consumer.
Elimination of caps on a variety of consumer products including medicines and medical products, toilet paper, matches, room perfumes, notebooks and albums, faux fur, fireworks, insecticides and fungicides, tapestries, handkerchiefs, tablecloths and napkins, envelopes, calendars and coloring books for children.
In addition, an order to reduce caps on products and raw materials for industry such as: various salts, oils, nitrates and phosphates, compounds, fertilizers, pesticides, plastics and its products, various rubber products and dyes and more.
According to the Ministry of Finance, this reduction in tariffs is expected to lower the costs of enterprises, increase productivity in the economy and help enterprises succeed in the current period.
The Ministry of Finance notes that in addition to the expected reduction in prices for consumers, the "Zero Customs" program is expected to assist in the opening of new markets for imports, in the reduction of regulation and in the increase in parallel imports.
According to Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman, "The 'Zero Customs' program lowers customs duties on a wide range of products for consumers and industry, which will significantly reduce their prices. This step is in addition to the credit points for working parents and daycare subsidies Shekels a year. "