'We are not an ATM': Jerusalem homeowners see property tax hikes of up to 70%

Thousands of apartment owners in Jerusalem discovered last week that their property tax (arnona) spiked by an average of 30%, according to Yair Ben Harush, who is representing the residents and leading a protest against the price increase.

Following a significant amount of urban renewal in the city, the Jerusalem Municipality decided to update property tax rates for those in buildings populated in the last four years – regardless of neighborhood, according to Jerusalem news site mynet.

Price increases for property tax are between 23 and 70%, Ben Harush said, offering as an example his own tax hike, which means that this year, he has been charged NIS 12,000 instead of around NIS 6,000.

Some 2,000 owners of apartments have banded together to fight the increase, Ben Harush said, and dozens of protesters gathered Thursday night near the home of Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion to object to the price hike.

Some held signs that read, “If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, it is because of the Arnona.”

“The mayor is piling more and more taxes on us,” said Ben Harush. “The time has come to say enough! We are not an ATM.”

The municipality stood by the increases, telling mynet that increasing property tax payments for those whose living conditions have significantly improved is a fair step that is “determined by a set criteria that is connected to the year the home was built or renewed.”

“Raising property tax rates and expanding revenue sources are necessary steps to maintain the level of services provided to the public. Without an increase in property taxes, the quality of services will decline and certainly won’t improve,” the municipality added.

The municipality also told mynet that the maximum increase these homeowners should see in their property tax is 30%, but added that when the plan was implemented, it became clear that for some homeowners, property tax classification changed categories, leading to particularly high jumps of up to 70%. The municipality called this type of occurrence rare.

Municipality stands behind decision

The municipality stood behind the decision, saying that “as noted, without adhering to the criterion and the resulting change, it will not be possible to provide adequate service levels. Indeed, in any broad initiative, there are exceptional cases where some are affected more severely, but these are a minority of cases.”

“We are in contact with the protest organizers and relevant city hall officials to try and find a way to balance the municipality’s needs and the residents’ economic struggles,” said Deputy Mayor Adir Schwarz, from Hitorerut.