Minister of Finance Yuval Steinitz on Wednesday signed a special directive to cut import duties and taxes on hundreds of items, including electrical appliances, food, and clothing. The tax cuts were recommended by the Trajtenberg Committee, Globes reported.
The customs cuts will go into effect immediately, and follow on the previous cut, which totaled NIS 387 million, in January.
Today's directives eliminate altogether customs duties of 8-12% on a range of consumer goods, such as clothes dryers, vacuum cleaners, microwave ovens, fans, humidifiers, hair dryers, toasters, electric sheets and blankets, electric tooth brushes, coffeemakers, irons, toasters, candles, headphones, light bulbs, sunglasses, protective goggles, reading glasses, sinks, and various batteries.
In a supplementary move to the January 2012 tax cut on textiles, customs fees on a number of finished textiles items will be abolished on January 1, 2013. At the same time, customs duties on manufactured goods and consumer items on which no duties are actively collected, will be cut by 10%, in order to encourage imports. On January 1, 2014, the customs duties on manufactured goods will be cut by 15%.
Quotas and taxes on food items will be gradually reduced by 2015, including meat, eggs, sausages, juices, spices, nuts, dried fruits, mushrooms, and jams, according to Globes.