Just before the election: a change in the law in favor of the self-employed

These are the first grants for 2021, for which two days ago the Minister of Finance reprimanded the director of the Tax Authority, Eran Yaakov, for changing the rules for eligibility for the grant without his knowledge, even though it is a law he himself initiated – according to the Tax Authority. By the end of 2020 the self-employed could have compared their turnover to 2018 or 2019, resting most for them to get a bigger grant.

As of the beginning of 2021, the law stipulates that the turnover can only be compared to that which was in the business in 2019, and it is no longer possible to choose 2018 for the purpose of comparison. This means that many self-employed people may not receive the grant at all, since their income has not decreased at the required rate, or receive a reduced grant.

The Minister of Finance resented on Tuesday that there will be a deterioration in the payment of grants to the self-employed starting in January 2021, but the Tax Authority replied that they are complying with the law, which they did not set, according to which from the beginning of the year can no longer be compared. 2021 It is no longer relevant what the 2018 cycle was.

The Minister of Finance, angry at the situation, asked the chairman of the Finance Committee, MK Moshe Gafni, to urgently convene the committee for a special discussion to amend the legislation, which will allow a comparison for 2018. However, at this stage it became clear that the Ministry of Finance For a change in the current timing, less than a week before the election.

During the discussion, a reservation was submitted on behalf of the Minister of Finance, which states that regarding the calculation of assistance grants for the self-employed and a controlling employee (social grants), also in 2021 a comparison will be made regarding the decrease in business turnover for 2018 or 2019. .

Against the reservation, the spokesman for the Ministry of Finance and a representative of the Ministry of Justice argued that this was a reservation that was not part of the government bill and that this proposal did not appear before the Ministerial Committee for Legislation and did not pass the orderly procedure. Of NIS 6 million, and therefore the approval of 50 Knesset members is needed in order to approve it.

The Treasury noted that funding for the additional grants to be distributed will be budgeted within the corona boxes, but it should be emphasized that the fact that the money will be budgeted does not require actual expenditure.

The change in the Grants Law was exceptionally discussed as part of a discussion by the Finance Committee in preparation for the second and third readings of the bill for South Lebanese military personnel and their families. From a technical point of view, it is not possible to raise a new issue in the Finance Committee without the approval of the Knesset Committee. Therefore, the Treasury authored the amendment in the Grants Law to amend the SLA Act.

Guy Goldman, Legislative Commissioner, Tax Authority: “Regarding the policy aspect, it is important to say that this amendment is not according to the position of the professionals, they said their position in the appropriate forum, and it is the Minister who makes the decisions in the end.”

Sarit Felber, Ministry of Justice: “In our view, the reservation is indeed not part of the government bill and is a substantial change from the bill you are discussing, and it was not before the Ministerial Committee for Legislation. It cannot be seen as a government proposal.”

Itai Temkin, Budget Division, Ministry of Finance: “If the proposal is accepted, it will increase government spending by more than NIS 6 million, initial estimates speak of hundreds of millions. The question is whether this was in our initial estimates, so it was built. We did not address changes in applicability. The law when we built the forecast. “

Tamir Cohen, Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Finance: “There is money allocated to the Corona program and these grants, the Minister of Finance has a very clear policy and the authority to say what to do with that money accordingly. There is an expense to be spent, and the source is completely there. The bills, the source is in the corona boxes. ”

Asi Messing, Spokesman for the Ministry of Finance: “Existing legislation currently establishes a different arrangement from what was stipulated in the reservation. It was discussed, not accidentally but very clearly. What they are currently seeking is to change – instead of the reports being on the basis of 2019 it will be 2018 or 2019, and it has a budget cost. The question of whether it is included in the original estimates is irrelevant. In practice there is a proposal that has a budget cost of hundreds of millions of shekels. She said that the proposal in this format did not go through the usual processes, so the existing platform cannot be seen as a government bill. ”

Finance Minister Israel Katz rejected the words: “Government policy is in favor. People are waiting for this assistance. The choice between 2018 and 2019 has helped a lot of people. This reservation is covered. The government’s position is unequivocal and I represent it. Anyone who wants to resist will not hold consent. “The government. I never just approved a comparison to 2019 and I would not approve it. That money exists, and the aid to businesses must be given now.”

Advocate Sagit Afik, Speaker of the Knesset and Finance Committee: “We will leave the law with an asterisk of budgetary cost until the Minister announces that there is a government consent. At the same time, the bylaws have a procedure in which the minister or his deputy in the plenum says that this is the position of the government, and then it expresses for the Knesset the consent of the government and removes the obligation of 50 MKs. In court, it will become clear that the government has not agreed to the budget increase, and this issue will not apply, even if it is approved by the plenum. ”