Gaza imposes new taxes

Gaza’s Ministry of Finance has imposed new taxes on imported goods without approval from the unity government, drawing criticism from industry and citizens.
A Palestinian man walks next to a truck loaded with goods after entering Gaza at the Kerem Shalom crossing, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip August 28, 2014. An open-ended ceasefire in the Gaza war held on Wednesday as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced strong criticism in Israel over a costly conflict with Palestinian militants in which no clear victor has emerged. The Egyptian-mediated ceasefire agreement that took effect on Tuesday evening, called for an indefinite halt to hostilities, th
A Palestinian man walks next to a truck loaded with goods that entered Gaza at the Kerem Shalom crossing, Aug. 28, 2014. - REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
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Mohammed Othman
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GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — In a surprising move, the Ministry of Finance this month unilaterally imposed in Gaza — which is effectively controlled by the leaders of the former Hamas government — several new taxes on more than 50 kinds of goods imported into the Gaza Strip via the Kerem Shalom border crossing. These goods include medicines, clothes, food, medical and electrical equipment and construction tools.

The first of their kind, the taxes imposed by the Gaza Ministry of Finance range between 1,500 to 5,000 shekels ($381 to $1,271). Merchants, vendors and citizens condemned this measure as taxes added to their burden in the dire economic conditions plaguing the Gaza Strip.

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