Taking from the rich authorities and letting the poor: the mayors protest the government's plan - voila! news

In the video: Carmel Shama Hacohen at a discussion on the Arnona fund, Knesset, May 14, 2023 (Danny Shem Tov, Knesset Spokesperson, Knesset channel)

A riot broke out on Sunday at the Finance Committee discussing the Arnona fund. Mayors who participated in the discussion were excluded from the discussion, and the vote was postponed in order to hear the Knesset members' remarks. Ramat Gan Mayor Carmel Shama Hacohen strongly criticized the law, calling it a "bad law." "This is a law that, in the name of nice words, will have the opposite results, every mayor has to start stopping building permits tomorrow, and a mayor who doesn't stop is a criminal."

Shama Hacohen also attacked the chairman of the local government, Haim Bibas, saying: "The moment you allow them to take tens of millions every year, you destroy the cities, we are under jihad, the fact that the government is not on strike to this day is a shame, I announced that we are quitting the local government." Bibbs, for his part, expressed opposition to the law, saying, "I wish it would pass away. I took the position that it was right to create differentials differently, some manipulate. The fund talks about housing incentives, and this should be done through an incentive by the administration from the funds they take."

Bibas at a discussion on the Arnona Fund (Photo: Knesset Spokesperson, Danny Shem Tov)

The Arnona tax fund is one of the most volatile issues in the Arrangements Law, which arouses strong opposition in the local government. The Ministry of Finance is promoting the Arnona Fund, which is intended to reduce the gaps in Arnona revenues between local authorities by collecting it from strong authorities in order to promote residential construction in the periphery. The Finance Ministry claims that the local government is exerting pressure on Likud MKs to thwart the move.

Last week, Finance Committee Chairman Moshe Gafni refused to postpone the discussion at the request of the local government and the opposition, following Operation Shield and Arrow, which prevented mayors from the south from participating in the discussion. Knesset members from the coalition also joined in and asked to postpone the discussion or remove the clause from the Arrangements Law, but Gafni clarified that he had received instructions from Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana to continue the discussion anyway.

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• Arnona
• Finance Committee