Will Avigdor Lieberman change the VAT import rules for purchases from abroad (from $75 to $300)?
Jim Mattis - 170307-D-GY869-147, Public Domain, Is Finance Minister, Avigdor Lieberman about to come out with dramatic news to the consumer public just before the elections? Lieberman instructed the Tax Authority to examine the increase of the VAT exemption ceiling for online shopping from websites abroad for personal imports, which currently stands at $75, to $300. These are dramatic changes that will open up the online shopping market from international websites for private consumers much more widely than what exists today, and it is expected to increase online consumption. Today, buyers from websites abroad are required to pay 17% VAT on every purchase over $75 from international websites. In his instructions to the Director of the Tax Authority, Eran Yaakov, Lieberman asked to examine whether the move could be carried out differentially in certain industries where there are concentrated markets and excessive prices, and without harming the local industry. Among other things, the