March 19, 2016
The free-loan funds that play a central role in supplementing the incomes of ultra-Orthodox households rely on black market capital. Draft legislation cracking down on tax evasion could spell trouble for them.
The deliberations in the Knesset Finance Committee took a personal earlier this month when lawmakers raised the issue of giving the Israel Tax Authority the right to examine private bank accounts in its battle against money laundering and tax evasion.
The idea behind the draft legislation is that the tax collectors would be alerted to possible cases by unusual activity, for instance accounts in the name of minors that suddenly get a big deposit from an overseas tax shelter like the Cayman Islands.