Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon and Interior Minister Aryeh Deri will submit a proposal on Sunday to lower the costs of water bills for private individuals across the country.

According to the proposal household, water bills will be reduced by the amount of the value added tax (VAT), which currently rests at 18 percent.

In order to pass the proposal, the government will need to submit a change to an existing law to the Knesset, that will allow allocation of some 250 million shekel for the water industry in Israel.

With Knesset approval the removal of value added tax from basic needs will be completed.  

According to Kahlon, “This is the next step in the war against the high cost of living and the diminishing of the economic social divide and income gap in Israel.”

“This proposal follows closely upon the heels of the lowering of the cost of public transportation, changes in the mandatory social security payments, and steps taken to lower the cost of pension fund management. These steps will help create growth within the economy," he added. 

Deri stressed the measure would "help those who are in a lower socioeconomic bracket to pay less and will help save each family thousands of shekels every year."