Nisan Slumiansky
Nisan SlumianskyIsrael news photo: Flash 90

The Head of the Knesset's Finance Committee, MK Nisan Slomiansky (Bayit Yehudi), has asked Finance Minister Yair Lapid to postpone the raising of Value Added Tax (VAT) by 24 hours to avoid desecrating the Sabbath.

"I was informed that the updating of the VAT will take place on May 31 at midnight," MK Slomiansky wrote Lapid. "A glance at the calendar shows that the date falls on Sabbath eve. As you know, Shabbat is the official day of rest in the state of Israel and it is a holy day for the Jewish people."

MK Slomiansky noted that the commerce world is obligated to immediately update its prices when VAT is changed. "The marketing networks and the stores that are obligated by the Price Marking Law," he wrote, "will have to employ numerous employees on the Sabbath in order to mark all of the products' prices, as will the service providers like gas stations (even those that operate without employees) and others."

"I therefore request that you postpone the date for raising VAT in a way that avoids desecrating the Sabbath and impinging on the worker's rest day," he summed up.