Israel's small businesses will protest if rescue plan is ditched

The president of Lahav, which represents independent workers and small businesses in Israel, threatened to organize protests if the proposed plan to assist small businesses isn't implemented.

Roy Cohen, who heads the organization, submitted a 100-day plan to assist 550,000 self-employed people and small businesses, who are in a difficult economic situation, at a cost of NIS 1.8 billion. The plan was submitted to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Economy Minister Nir Barkat at the end of January.

The plan includes eight key steps, mainly in the tax field, and the cost of its implementation is estimated at NIS 1.8 billion. Three sections have the highest budgetary cost: Payment for sick days from the second day of illness will cost NIS 463 million and providing unemployment insurance for the self-employed in a mechanism similar to what salaried employees receive and under similar conditions costs NIS 550 million. 

In another section, which was developed after raising the pension age for women, it's proposed to continue granting self-employed women a pension from the current retirement age (62) at a cost of NIS 311 million.

Where will the money come from?

In response to the question of where the money will come from, Cohen stated that there are budget surpluses from taxes of NIS 30 billion. A billion shekels for this sector is a marginal expense in relation to the benefit the public receives from small businesses. 

Tax collection is expected to increase by NIS 5 billion. All recent governments have talked about implementing parts of the program. Now, the excuses are over, Cohen said. There's no reason why the current government can't implement the entire plan, and there's no reason why money shouldn't be allocated to help all small businesses and the self-employed.

Cohen said that it is now time for his organization's members to be treated exactly like one of the powerful groups which lobbied excessively and received a lot of money in coalition agreements. 

He added that he met Smotrich and there was an understanding that he would work to stop rising costs in property taxes, electricity, water and fuel which affect income. He promised to work to improve the cash flow of businesses. The rise in interest rates hurts business.

Cohen: Israel's economy can go into recession

He also said that in the coming days, a meeting will be scheduled with the professional team to implement the program's demands. A promise was made to Cohen that, in the upcoming budget, measures will be implemented for the benefit of his organization's members. If the upcoming budget doesn't include a line for small businesses, it will echo and trickle down for generations. 

If this is the case, Cohen claims, the economy will go into recession, small businesses will close and unemployment will soar. If this doesn't happen, it's clear that independent workers and small businesses are at the bottom of the priority scale. So they'll start a public struggle.