The tax reforms have been made into law. By a vote of 61-13, with 10 abstentions, the Knesset today approved the new tax package, based on recommendations by a committee headed by Ya\'ir Rabinovitch. Finance Minister Silvan Shalom said that the occasion is a \"holiday,\" in that the government had succeeded in implementing a plan that many previous governments had strived for but failed to do. The plan will take effect Jan. 1, 2003.
The new program includes taxes of up to 15% on capital gains and savings plans, the gradual introduction of lower income tax rates, and taxes on overseas income. This last clause will affect new immigrants less than initially feared; a compromise was reached exempting them from many changes for the next ten years and easing other decrees.
The new program includes taxes of up to 15% on capital gains and savings plans, the gradual introduction of lower income tax rates, and taxes on overseas income. This last clause will affect new immigrants less than initially feared; a compromise was reached exempting them from many changes for the next ten years and easing other decrees.