Association of Foreign Personnel Corporations in the Construction Industry to the High Court: The Levy Does Not Achieve Its Purpose and Discriminates Against Foreign Construction Workers
The state collects 15% of the wages of foreign workers, NIS 350 million a year
Photography:
Envato Elements
Produced by the Department of Special Supplements
A petition was submitted to the High Court to cancel a 15% levy on the wages of foreign workers in the construction industry.
According to the petitioners, the purpose of the levy does not exist and causes prohibited discrimination against foreign workers employed in agriculture.
In 2003, the state decided to impose a tax on the employment of foreign workers in the construction, agriculture, industry and restaurants industries, in order to increase the employment of foreign workers and thus encourage the entry of Israeli workers into these industries.
However, in practice, Israeli workers are not interested in these jobs, so the tax does not achieve its purpose and over the years has become a heavy financial burden on employers.
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Eldad Nitzan, chairman of the Association of Foreign Workers' Corporations in the Construction Industry, filed the petition: The prices of the apartments. "
In addition to the workers' wages (which by law are not lower than the minimum wage in the industry), employers are also required to pay an annual fee, application fee, private health insurance, proper housing, payment to a company from abroad, payment to the Ministry of Housing for tests and exams
The amount accumulates to about NIS 50,000 per year per employee, before the levy of 15%.
In 2016, the state decided to exempt the agriculture industry from paying the levy, and in recent days this exemption has been extended until the end of 2022. It seems that a provision is also being formulated aimed at exempting foreign workers in the institutional nursing industry from paying the levy.
The petition was filed through attorney Hagit Bleiberg and attorney Liat Gerber of Goldfarb Seligman.
Produced by the Department of Special Supplements