The Legal Counsel to the Government believes that, in accordance with the High Court ruling, the property tax discounts for families in which the father of the family has not regulated his status with the military should also be canceled.
If this decree is approved, the move will impose an additional expense on many Haredi households.
According to a report by Nati Toker in The Marker, Deputy Attorney General Dr. Gil Limon today (Monday) sent a directive to the Director General of the Ministry of the Interior, Israel Ozan, on the cancellation of property tax discounts for young men who are subject to conscription - following the series of sanctions that the High Court of Justice determined should be implemented: cancellation of discounts on public transportation, cancellation of participation in discounted apartments and rental housing, and cancellation of subsidies for daycare centers, family nurseries, and lunchrooms.
Gali Baharav-Miara also decided that the tax benefit received by associations where conscripts study will be canceled.
According to Toker's report, the High Court left it up to the professional authorities to decide whether and how to impose the sanction of canceling property tax discounts.
In a letter sent by Uzan on Thursday, he presented the Interior Ministry's position that the taxation sector of local authorities should not be involved in the issue of conscription, and claimed that the legal advice proposal to deny property tax discounts to ultra-Orthodox "evaders" has no basis in law, will lead to a spiral in the authorities and cause a severe deficit.
In his letter, the Director General of the Ministry of the Interior wrote: "In light of the professional difficulties and applications raised by the professional elements in the Ministry of the Interior, the ministry's position is that amending the regulations as proposed changes and constitutes a significant intervention in central-local government relations, something that the ministry has so far refrained from doing and raises concerns that this will affect the fabric of relations between the central and local governments.""
Ozan added and wrote: "In addition, in accordance with the position of the professional elements in the ministry, there is concern that amending the regulations will immediately put many authorities into a budgetary spiral and deficit, due to the many challenges involved in its implementation and the substantial difficulties that arose in the professional examination.".
Now Limon replied that his position is unfounded and unreasoned, and that in accordance with the High Court's directive, the sanction of canceling property tax discounts for those liable for conscription should also be applied.
Lemon instructed Ozan to forward the decision to cancel the property tax discounts for 'evaders' for signature.
Since there is currently no Minister of the Interior, Limon assumed that the authorities on the matter should be transferred to the Prime Minister or another minister.
This means that local authorities will be required to condition the granting of a property tax discount only to those who have settled their status with the military authorities.
The state is supposed to respond to the High Court by today on what has been done practically to implement the sanctions.
