The Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, MK Avir Kara, is very active these days on two fronts, which in recent days have become perhaps the most burning in the country: the wave of price increases in the economy, and the rage of business owners who did not receive compensation for losses.
In an interview with Israel Today, Kara explains the "open refrigerators" reform that the government is currently planning, one of the important parts of which is to open up the meat and poultry market to competition by removing import caps, which Kara estimates will reduce their price by about 40%.
Referring to the cost of living, Kara says: "The public is right, it's hard to live here. But you have to demand the right things. There was a great protest in 2011, but why did it not work? People asked for free education. There is no problem for the state to subsidize In taxes. "
Kara talks about the need to open up the market to competition and remove import barriers in all industries.
"The import reform had four parts: the Standards Institute, cosmetics, agriculture and sensitive food. We have succeeded in all sectors, there is one place we are stuck with - agriculture."
What's up with that?
"The Minister of Finance can tomorrow morning sign an order removing the import caps of fruits and vegetables. We are also ready with the work on the eggs. Now we are preparing the work on the meat and chicken - we can lower the price of meat and chicken by 40% by opening a market It's for competition. Today the duty on chicken is NIS 6.75 per kilo, which is why the chicken in the supermarket costs NIS 29. The same goes for the cattle. The cow has 20 parts. To import each part you have to pay a tax of NIS 8,000 per year. So if you want to be a cattle importer "The initial amount is NIS 160,000. If you want to import all the parts, beyond that there are caps of 12% - then there are no importers."
Purchasing meat at a supermarket in Israel, Photo: Michel Dot Com
Will the farmers agree?
"The public has to agree! You know you pay 29 shekels per kilo of chicken in the supermarket, and in Poland it is sold for nine shekels? What separates you from this are the barriers, the regulation, the pressure groups. So what do you choose? A barn is also a problem, but there the public has a choice. nothing".
And shouldn't the government also put its hand in its pocket and lower taxes?
"The state needs to streamline government services, including the salaries of MKs and the salaries of senior officials - cut back there, divert money to other resources and lower taxes.
I think the income tax should be lowered.
Electricity and fuel prices can also be halted for a while, but that has nothing to do with the current government.
It would have cost any government. "
What happens to the outline of compensation for the self-employed? You said you would stop voting with the government if the outline was not presented.
"I did say that. Following my remarks, there was a tripartite meeting with the Minister of Finance and the Deputy Prime Minister. We met with business owners. Yaron Gandhi was appointed by the Prime Minister to mediate between him and the business owners.
We are working on a layout in the style of a solid cliff.
"There is no chance that the businesses affected by the omicron crisis will not receive assistance."
So why is there still no compensation outline?
"Some of the businesses were damaged and some were not. I want the compensation outline to happen as soon as possible. The finance minister is talking about February 20. I talked in advance about February 15."
Were you behind the video against the government running in the WhatsApp group under your management?
"I have more than 100 groups that I manage. I do not shy away from criticism, but in no way am I behind any activities against the government, certainly not in the video."
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