Israel’s Minister of Finance Avigdor Liberman announced Tuesday afternoon that he is cutting Israel’s fuel tax by NIS 0.50 ($0.15) per liter for both gasoline and diesel.
The tax cut takes effect immediately.
Liberman proclaimed in a Twitter post, “We are returning the money to the citizens and reducing the price of fuel by half a shekel per liter!”
מחזירים את הכסף לאזרח ומפחיתים את מחיר הדלק בחצי שקל לליטר!
היום הורדתי את מס הבלו על הדלק והסולר, החלטה שהתקבלה בזכות נתוני הצמיחה הגבוהים של הכלכלה הישראלית. נמשיך לקבל החלטות אחראיות על בסיס הנתונים בשטח בלבד. נמשיך להקל על האזרחים ולהוריד את יוקר המחיה באחריות.— אביגדור ליברמן (@AvigdorLiberman) April 5, 2022
Less than a week ago, the Israeli government — including Liberman — raised the tax on gasoline for the second time in two months.
The net increase in the price of a liter of gasoline in the Jewish State rose by nearly a full shekel (NIS 0.73) since the beginning of March, when the price for a liter of unleaded 95-octane increased by 34 agorot, to NIS 7.05.
On April 1 the government again raised the price of gasoline by 39 agorot (nearly half a shekel) to a maximum high of NIS 7.44 per liter.
In his announcement, Liberman said the decision was made due to the high growth figures of the Israeli economy, and not because of political considerations.
“We will continue to make responsible decisions based on the data in the field only,” Liberman said. “We will continue to make it easier for citizens and reduce the cost of living responsibly.”
He didn’t explain why, after his new tax cut, the price of gasoline will still be 23 agorot higher per liter than it was two months ago.
TPS contributed to this report.
