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Jerusalem Municipality to Exempt Agricultural Lands Observing Shmittah from Taxes
By Yisrael Rosner
In response to an appeal from the chairman of United Torah Jewry party in the Jerusalem municipality, Rabbi Eliezer Rauchberger, the city has approved an exemption of municipal arnona property taxes for agricultural lands within the Jerusalem city boundaries that will keep shmittah in this upcoming year.
In light of the fact that the shmittah year will begin in the middle of the current fiscal calendar year of 2014, Rabbi Rauchberger appealed to the city treasurer, Eli Zituk, and the administrator of the department of land assessment and taxation, Moshe Levi, requesting an exemption from property taxes for those agricultural lands within the city limits whose owners are committed to keep shmittah and will refrain from working their lands. This is according to an existing amendment of the Interior Ministry dating from 2009 whereby such tax exemption be accorded at the rate of 90% - 100% for lands observing shmittah.
At the end of the discussion held between Rabbi Rauchberger and the municipal officials, and after the former presented to the Treasury the statement of said national amendment of which the officials were ignorant, they agreed to his demand to award this exemption from property taxes to the lands keeping shechita within its jurisdiction beginning from Rosh Hashana 5775.
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