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Will Municipal Property Tax (Arnona) Change?
Prior to the beginning of the new fiscal year, the Rehovot Municipality was considering to increase the Municipal Property Tax (Arnona) by 10% in some areas of Rehovot (Areas "Bet").
The rationale for such increase was the significant difference in the Arnona levels between city areas labelled "Aleph" and "Bet". This gap could reach several hundreds of Shekels in Arnona for apartments of identical size in different town areas. The city Administration decided to bridge the gap - not by decreasing the Arnona in areas "Aleph", but by increasing it in areas "Bet", the homes of many families with low-to-moderate income, including religious communities with large families and many new immigrant families (olim chadashim).
No wonder such a decision caused a storm of reaction from both deputies of the City Council (advocating for the interest of their body of electors), and residents of the areas where Arnona increase would be implemented.
The last meeting of the City Council, where this matter was scheduled for discussion, took place in a very tense environment. The meeting was held in the presence of residents who live in these areas. The residents commented on the situation and actively expressed their feelings, resulting in some of them being forced to leave the meeting.
Rehovot Mayor, Shuki Forer, who should have brought the matter to a vote, was not successful in aligning his allies (including all representatives of religious fractions and the opposition) to form a majority. Therefore, the Mayor did not have chance to have his proposal accepted. As a result, the question of Municipal Property Tax (Arnona) was removed from the municipal agenda, probably till the end of 2005 when it can be raised again.
The only change which was introduced on the issue of Arnona payment, applies only to residents who pay by automatic bank transfer "hora'at keva". Up until now the saving on such way of payment was three percent. In the future the saving will be half the present rate (i.e. 1.5%).
Original Russian Text: A passion of Municipal Property Tax. Rehovot.Jnews.co.il (3 December 2004) [FullText].
Related publication: Shmuel Dekalo. Rehovot wants Weizmann Institute to pay local taxes. Globes Online (25 April 2004) [FullText].
The rationale for such increase was the significant difference in the Arnona levels between city areas labelled "Aleph" and "Bet". This gap could reach several hundreds of Shekels in Arnona for apartments of identical size in different town areas. The city Administration decided to bridge the gap - not by decreasing the Arnona in areas "Aleph", but by increasing it in areas "Bet", the homes of many families with low-to-moderate income, including religious communities with large families and many new immigrant families (olim chadashim).
No wonder such a decision caused a storm of reaction from both deputies of the City Council (advocating for the interest of their body of electors), and residents of the areas where Arnona increase would be implemented.
The last meeting of the City Council, where this matter was scheduled for discussion, took place in a very tense environment. The meeting was held in the presence of residents who live in these areas. The residents commented on the situation and actively expressed their feelings, resulting in some of them being forced to leave the meeting.
Rehovot Mayor, Shuki Forer, who should have brought the matter to a vote, was not successful in aligning his allies (including all representatives of religious fractions and the opposition) to form a majority. Therefore, the Mayor did not have chance to have his proposal accepted. As a result, the question of Municipal Property Tax (Arnona) was removed from the municipal agenda, probably till the end of 2005 when it can be raised again.
The only change which was introduced on the issue of Arnona payment, applies only to residents who pay by automatic bank transfer "hora'at keva". Up until now the saving on such way of payment was three percent. In the future the saving will be half the present rate (i.e. 1.5%).
Original Russian Text: A passion of Municipal Property Tax. Rehovot.Jnews.co.il (3 December 2004) [FullText].
Related publication: Shmuel Dekalo. Rehovot wants Weizmann Institute to pay local taxes. Globes Online (25 April 2004) [FullText].
posted by MyRehovot.info @ 12/22/2004
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