The Deputy Minister is well acquainted with the steps taken in the diamond exchange over the past three years, and has also honored the exchange members in determining the mezuzah in the tenders room .
For example, the exhibitors referred to India and showed that the credit in country is $16 billion a year. In Israel, however, credit is $ 975 million. Therefore, the many efforts invested in the development of the industry have a limited impact when the funding problem is so deep .
It was reported that the Supervisor of Banks, Dr. Hedva Bar, visited the diamond exchange a few days ago and concluded the conversation by believing that the industry is capable of developing and contributing to the Israeli economy. The supervisor's visit is part of the many conversations that the diamond exchange's management conducts with the Supervisor of Banks, in order to reflect the reality in Israel vis-à-vis other countries and the importance of solving the issue of credit.
The attendees also referred to the diamond industry in Dubai, where most of the companies are Indian. The Deputy Minister was told unequivocally that if the tax collectors of the diamantaires were compared to the tax rate of the high-tech industry, it would be possible to believe that 50-70 international companies would move to Israel. The annual turnover they roll is between $ 100 million and $ 200 million, but they can not allow themselves to move to Israel when tax payments are so high .
This figure shows that if the tax rate had changed, when international companies would have copied their operations to Israel, Israel would have received much higher tax payments than today, and international companies would become part of the growth engine of Israel's diamond industry .
In response to issues of support and granting of credit, Deputy Minister and Budget Division representative said that in their view, the trend is very positive in the long run. In their view, our ongoing conversation with the Tax Authority and the changes we have made in business conduct will advance the industry and are expected to have a strong impact on the banks' approach. In the short term, the subject of inter-ministerial committee decisions regarding the establishment of a diamond fund was mentioned, and NIS 1 billion was financed by state guarantees, and also mentioned that at the meetings of the committee for the promotion of the industry, we discussed about funding a NIS 20 million trust fund to provide loans to small and medium-sized businesses that will be set up by the government in cooperation with the industry.
Later on, the participants asked for the support of the deputy minister for a bill on the VAT deduction, which was supported by MK David Bitan and MK Oded Forer, and added that the diamond industry is the only branch in the country whose business is paying VAT and not being compensated. The importance of such a change is not marginal for businesses in crisis that fighting every day to conduct business, hire workers, and develop the economy. The participants also referred to the issue of production infrastructures whose development is necessary to increase the strength of the industry, and asked for their support on this issue as well .
" At the end of the meeting, I summed up and said that I believe in our industry. there is tremendous knowledge here, we operate from a long history and heritage, and we have human capital with tremendous potential, great faith and love for the profession." s aid the president of the exchange, Mr. Yoram Dvash. "Every member of our diamond exchange rises every morning and fights for the development of his private business and the development of the entire industry, but in the end, if the country wants to develop its economy, it wants the diamond industry to remain, trade, production, and export to also grow, it must act and act courageously .
I thanked the Deputy Minister of Finance, Mr. Itzik Cohen, and the Coordinator of Industry and Trade in the Budget Division, Mr. Ido Sofer. They agreed that they would work to help the industry and examine in depth all the issues raised in the meeting ."
