Government bill · 20th Knesset · published as law 26 November 2015
חוק לתיקון פקודת מס הכנסה (מס' 207), התשע"ו-2015Law for Amendment of the Income Tax Ordinance (No. 207), 2015 · automatic translation · suggest a correction
Status: התקבלה בקריאה שלישית
Topics: Taxes* · * from the Knesset's official law classification
Official summary of the law (Knesset)
The Law to Amend the Income Tax Ordinance (No. 207), 2015 (hereinafter – the Amendment), was approved in second and third reading on 18 November 2015. The Amendment adds a new chapter to the Income Tax Ordinance that will regulate the signing of international agreements under which information may be transferred between the Israel Tax Authority and foreign tax authorities, with respect to those considered foreign residents under those agreements. Restrictions on the transfer of information are also established, such as the requirement that the information be necessary for the foreign state, and in the case of an individual information request, the Director of the Tax Authority must be convinced that the information is necessary for the foreign state. An obligation was also added, in the case of an individual information request, to notify the Israeli resident concerned and to give them a period of 14 days before the information is transferred, all provided that the tax authority of the foreign state did not request that the Israeli resident not be notified of the request. Additional restrictions on the information transfer provision include cases in which the transfer of information could harm state security, public peace and security, a pending investigation, public policy, or another vital matter. The Director may also refuse a request to transfer information if the tax authority of the foreign state, without reasonable justification, refrained from transferring information to the Director under an agreement, or did not fulfill another condition in the agreement.
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Hebrew original
חוק לתיקון פקודת מס הכנסה (מס' 207), התשע"ו-2015 (להלן – התיקון), אושר בקריאה השנייה והשלישית ביום ו' בכסלו התשע"ו (18 בנובמבר 2015). התיקון מוסיף פרק חדש בפקודת מס הכנסה שיסדיר את החתימה על הסכמים בינלאומיים שלפיהם תתאפשר העברת מידע בין רשות המסים בישראל לרשויות מס זרות וזאת ביחס למי שנחשבים כתושבי חוץ לפי אותם הסכמים. כמו כן, קבועים סייגים להעברת המידע כגון הדרישה שהמידע דרוש למדינה הזרה, ואם מדובר בבקשת מידע פרטנית, על מנהל רשות המסים להשתכנע שהמידע דרוש למדינה הזרה. כן הוספה חובה, במקרה של בקשת מידע פרטנית, ליידע תושב ישראל בדברה ולתת לו שהות של 14 ימים בטרם יועבר המידע, והכל אם רשות המס של המדינה הזרה לא ביקשה שלא ליידע את תושב ישראל בדבר הבקשה. סייגים נוספים לסעיף העברת המידע כוללים מקרים בהם העברת המידע עלולה לפגוע בביטחון המדינה, בשלום הציבור ובביטחונו, בחקירה תלויה ועומדת, בתקנת הציבור או בעניין חיוני אחר. כן, רשאי המנהל לסרב לבקשה להעביר מידע אם רשות המס של המדינה הזרה נמנעה, בלא הצדק סביר להעברת מידע לפי הסכם למנהל, או שלא קיימה תנאי אחר בהסכם.
Readings
- 19 November 2015 · Third reading · אישור החוקהצעת חוק לתיקון פקודת מס הכנסה (מס' 207), התשע"ו-2015Bill to amend the Income Tax Ordinance (No. 207), 2015autoLaw passed57 for · 55 against
What was said in the plenum
The debate dealt with the approval of the Arrangements Law (Amendment to the Income Tax Ordinance) for the budget years 2015-2016, including the regulation of tax benefits for peripheral settlements, exemption from municipal property tax on solar systems, benefits for savers and self-employed persons, and more. The main dispute was between the government and the coalition, who presented the budget as a social budget free of cuts, and the opposition, who attacked it as disconnected from the public's economic distress and biased in favor of interest groups and cronies.
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Hebrew original
הדיון עסק באישור חוק ההסדרים (תיקון פקודת מס הכנסה) לשנות התקציב 2015–2016, בכלל זה הסדרת הטבות המס ליישובי הפריפריה, פטור מארנונה על מערכות סולריות, הטבות לחוסכים ולעצמאים ועוד. עיקר המחלוקת בין הממשלה והקואליציה שהציגו את התקציב כתקציב חברתי חף מגזירות, לבין האופוזיציה שתקפה אותו כמנותק מהמצוקה הכלכלית של הציבור ומוטה לטובת קבוצות אינטרס ומקורבים.
Arguments for
- This is the first social budget of its kind in years, including benefits rather than cuts for the country's citizens.Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism), Moshe Kahlon (Kulanu)
- The budget brings significant changes to the cost of living and the housing crisis, such as ending the old tender system and the 'Buyer's Price' program.Moshe Kahlon (Kulanu)
- The budget raises the salaries of soldiers, non-commissioned officers and police officers, restores child allowances, and addresses unemployment benefits for self-employed persons.Moshe Kahlon (Kulanu)
- The committee acted transparently and with seriousness, held in-depth discussions on every clause, corrected injustices such as the situation of orphans and widows, and involved both coalition and opposition in improving the law.Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism)
- There is a need to establish a uniform and equal set of criteria for tax benefits to localities that does not depend on political proximity, in order to prevent arbitrary allocation and to avoid High Court of Justice intervention that would nullify the entire arrangement.Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism)
Arguments against
- The budget ignores the public's distress over the cost of living and the housing crisis, particularly among young people and the middle class, and does not present a real solution.Isaac Herzog (Zionist Union)
- The budget serves pressure groups, cronies and settlements at the expense of the general public, and reflects capitulation to the extreme right.Isaac Herzog (Zionist Union)
- The government and the Prime Minister are disconnected from the public, do not listen to protesters, and are not fulfilling promises made during the election campaign to address the cost of living and housing.Isaac Herzog (Zionist Union)
- The budget neglects vulnerable groups such as botanical garden workers, students in Arab schools, the elderly, immigrants and self-employed persons.Isaac Herzog (Zionist Union)
- There is concern about additional political and budgetary agreements that were not fully reported to the Knesset, and about a voting mechanism for the reservations that is not legal and is not anchored in the Knesset Bylaws.Omer Barlev (Zionist Union), Dov Khenin (Joint List)
Who spoke (8)
| Member | Faction | Readings | Speeches | In the final vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moshe Gafni | United Torah Judaism coalition | Third reading | 20 | for |
| Erel Margalit | Zionist Union opposition | Third reading | 2 | against |
| Isaac Herzog | Zionist Union opposition | Third reading | 1 | against |
| Moshe Kahlon | Kulanu coalition | Third reading | 17 | for |
| Omer Barlev | Zionist Union opposition | Third reading | 2 | against |
| Dov Khenin | Joint List opposition | Third reading | 1 | against |
| Ahmad Tibi | Joint List opposition | Third reading | 1 | no record |
| Merav Michaeli | Zionist Union opposition | Third reading | 1 | against |
An automatic summary of the plenum transcripts: the debate on the bill at every reading it was voted on. Arguments are given as the speakers made them; this is not an assessment. The list of speakers comes from the transcript, without a model. Transcript of the sitting: 1
Reservations to the second reading
No reservations were filed to this bill.
Reservations, sections and other votes (1)
In order. Votes on reservations and individual sections are shown separately from the vote on the bill as a whole.
- 19 November 2015 · Second reading · קריאה שנייההצעת חוק לתיקון פקודת מס הכנסה (מס' 207), התשע"ו-2015Bill to amend the Income Tax Ordinance (No. 207), 2015auto59 for · 53 againstVote on sections of the bill