A huge tax scandal in the Haredi community
Reports have come in that tax authorities overlooked a galling case in the Haredi community:
A report Wednesday by State Comptroller Yosef Shapira said that Israeli tax authorities have failed, or been otherwise unable to collect tens of millions of shekels in taxes from institutions and individuals associated with the haredi community. Money is exchanged “under the table,” unreported to tax authorities, and funneled through charitable organizations and kashrut supervision groups known as “Badatzim.”Of course, those are the public's taxes they're exploiting, and it's time to put a halt to that, if the authorities want to. This is another failure on the part of the authorities to deal with tax evasions correctly in Haredi society, and now they'd do well to change that.
In addition, self-styled “Kabbalah” rabbis collected hundreds of millions of shekels from acolytes and believers – in cash, and without paying taxes.
The report examined the activities of 20 organizations that operate in the haredi community, for the period of April through October 2013. The Comptroller was responding to a series of complaints to police and tax officials on illicit activities in the Badatz organizations.
Labels: haredi corruption, Israel
