Category: General Business

15

Nov2018
Pension contributions are important in providing for our retirement years. Below is a brief overview of Israeli tax law rules for 2018. Types of Members The tax law distinguishes between “Privileged” and “Non-privileged” members of a provident fund, who may also be employed or self-employed. A privileged member is one who contributes at ... Read More
November 15, 2018Leon Harris

22

Oct2018

Your Taxes: Faster Flips

In October 2018, the ITA published a new fast track procedure for cases where the shareholders of an Israeli company wish to flip it. That means putting a foreign parent company (“ParentCo”) above the Israeli company. This happens quite often, especially in the hitech sector. For example, a US pension fund ... Read More
October 22, 2018Leon Harris

22

Oct2018
The Israeli Tax Authority has just backed down on a problematic reportable tax position for certain investment funds. But the underlying tax exposure remains. What is a Reportable Tax Position? A reportable income tax position is a position contrary to a position published by the ITA by the end of the year concerned if the tax advantage exceeds NIS 5 million in the tax year ... Read More
October 22, 2018Leon Harris

17

Sep2018
The Israeli Tax Authority (ITA) has issued a new generic Ruling allowing a streamlined procedure for B2B (business to business) e-commerce supplies by foreign businesses to Israeli businesses (Ruling 6369/18). The tax or lack thereof on e-commerce is a hot topic. On June 21 this year, the US Supreme Court ruled in the ... Read More
September 17, 2018Leon Harris

26

Jul2018
In the start-up nation, many hitech employees enjoy share (stock) plans and share option plans. In May 2018 the Israeli Tax Authority (ITA) published a new batch of tax rulings which clarify Section 102 of the Income Tax Ordinance (ITO). What did the ITA say? Section 102 Section 102 of the ITO allows ... Read More
July 26, 2018Leon Harris

11

Jul2018
The Israeli Supreme Court has just ruled that a taxpayer cannot claim a foreign tax credit under the US-Israel tax treaty (Tel-Aviv 4 Assessing Officer vs. Gmul America Ltd, Civil Appeal 8934/16 of June 11, 2018). Double taxation and no tax treaty relief is not good for international trade and investment ... Read More
July 11, 2018Leon Harris

13

Jun2018
The Israeli Supreme Court has just issued a judgment of interest to the Israeli hitech and industrial sectors and their employees (Kontera Technologies Ltd v Tel-Aviv 3 Assessing Office 943/16, Finisar Israel Ltd v Rehovot Assessing Officer 1728/16). Transfer Pricing in Israel: The Supreme Court handed down a combined judgment relating to ... Read More
June 13, 2018Leon Harris

23

May2018
New restrictions will limit the use of cash and blank checks (cheques) commencing the beginning of 2019 pursuant to a law just passed by the Knesset (Law Limiting the Use of Cash, 2018, Book of Laws 2710). The new law distinguishes between businesses, consumers (referred to as non-businesses) and tourists. A business ... Read More
May 23, 2018Leon Harris

08

May2018
On 21 March 2018, the European Commission proposed new rules to ensure that digital business activities are taxed in a “fair and growth-friendly” way across the EU. This followed an OECD report of March 16 revealing a lack of international consensus about taxing digital operators (Tax Challenges Arising from Digitalization –Interim Report). The same day ... Read More
May 8, 2018Leon Harris

25

Apr2018
As Israel celebrates 70 years of independence, it is good to note what makes the start-up nation innovative and successful. A recent OECD report attributes this success in large part to venture capital (VC) funds (A Portrait of Innovative Start-Ups Across Countries).  On March 14, the Israeli Tax Authority issued updated guidance ... Read More
April 25, 2018Leon Harris