With the outbreak of the plague, the Treasury updated its tax revenue forecast to NIS 307.7 billion, in practice they reached NIS 311 billion • Before the crisis, there were two months of impressive increases in revenue
Less than expected.
Ministry of Finance
Photo:
Oren Ben Hakon
Tax revenues in 2020 amounted to NIS 311 billion - only NIS 20 billion less than the original forecasts, before the outbreak of the corona crisis, when they stood at NIS 330.2 billion.
With the outbreak of the corona, the Treasury updated its forecast for the period and actually reduced it to NIS 307.7 billion.
According to a survey published yesterday (Tuesday) by the Tax Authority, the total value of imports to Israel decreased by 7.8% due to the crisis, mainly due to the decrease in imports of fuel products, vehicles and their parts.
On the other hand, there has been an increase in personal imports, pharmaceuticals and pharmaceuticals.
The months of January-February 2020, before the crisis, were characterized by an impressive increase in revenue.
From March, this trend changed and revenues fell compared to 2019. The declining trend moderated in June-July, and from August to the end of 2020, revenues increased.
The main damage to tax revenues was in the second quarter, when there was a 15% decrease in direct and indirect tax revenues.
Indirect tax revenues were hit significantly more than direct tax revenues, mainly as a result of reduced imports and declining fuel consumption during closure periods.
The survey also shows that the number of income tax payers fell by 27.1% in April last year, and the number of VAT payers fell by 37.4% in April. The payments of the big businesses, a recovery was recorded already in June.
In 2020, the import of passenger vehicles decreased by 17.4%, and the marketing of gasoline to the economy decreased by about 13%.
Respectively, excise tax revenues fell by 12% as a result of closures, reduced activity and the possibility of working from home.
Part of the decrease in vehicle imports is explained by the advance of hybrid vehicle imports in December 2019. An increase of 15.4% was recorded in cigarette imports, part of the increase is due to a replacement for purchases abroad and duty free.
