Manufacturers Seek NIS 1-a-Liter Diesel Tax Cut

Israel’s Manufacturers Association is seeking a diesel excise-tax cut of 84.7 agorot per liter before VAT, equivalent to NIS 1 including VAT. In a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, association president Avraham Novogrotzky requested relief comparable to the gasoline-tax reduction. The association argues that diesel-dependent factories and businesses have received no equivalent relief despite rising input costs. The Treasury estimates that a NIS 1 reduction in diesel excise would cost about NIS 200 million a month and says the benefit would be shared between consumers and fuel marketers because diesel prices are not controlled.