Sheetrit proposes bill to lower tax on food

The bill would lower VAT on products such as bread, milk, eggs, flour, oil and sugar from 16 percent down to 8%.

By LAHAV HARKOV, NADAV SHEMER
Meir Sheetrit (photo credit: Miiam Alster)
Meir Sheetrit
(photo credit: Miiam Alster)
MK Meir Sheetrit (Kadima) proposed a bill on Tuesday to lower the value added tax on basic food products, in response to the current controversy about cottage cheese prices.
The bill would lower VAT on products such as bread, milk, eggs, flour, oil and sugar from 16 percent down to 8%, and would allow the finance minister to add other products to the lower tax bracket with the Knesset Economic Committee’s permission.
“The cottage cheese crisis shows the danger of setting prices in the market, which is why regulation of basic food products should be renewed,” Sheetrit said. “In addition, the value-added tax on basic food products should be lowered.”
Sheetrit explained that other countries in the world have lowered taxes on food “with great success,” adding, “The tax burden in Israel is one of the highest in all OECD countries.”
Also on Tuesday, MK Ya’acov Katz (National Union) addressed the plenum, thanking God that “Israel has turned into a normal country. We talk about things like cottage cheese and strikes.”
“I guess we don’t have any more problems with our enemies, nothing major is happening in September,” he said sarcastically, in reference to the planned unilateral declaration of Palestinian statehood at the UN’s General Assembly.
“I hope our state only has to deal with things like cottage cheese, and that God only brings us peace.”
Meanwhile, Manufacturers Association president Shraga Brosh praised on Tuesday Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s announcement that he would establish a team headed by Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Shalom Simhon (Independence) to check prices in the dairy industry.
Brosh said, “I am happy that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has responded to the request and established a professional team headed by minister Shalom Simhon that will check the dairy market.
This is the most correct way to solve the situation created in the market, to place around one table all the stakeholders and professionals in order to get their professional opinions to find a real and correct solution to the problem.”