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Abbas lifts Gaza tax exemption, threatening further economic woes

After taking over administrative control of the Gaza Strip, President Mahmoud Abbas has abolished tax exemptions in a bid to get more revenue from Gaza to balance expenses, disregarding the harsh economic conditions in the besieged enclave.
A Palestinian employee paid by the Palestinian Authority shows money to the camera after withdrawing cash from an ATM machine outside a bank, in Gaza City June 11, 2014. Gaza's public sector union suspended protests on Wednesday that had paralysed the local economy and threatened the deal on a Palestinian unity government but said it would resume its action if its members were not promptly paid. The pay dispute involving some 40,000 public servants erupted last week shortly after Hamas, which has ruled Gaza
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GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — President Mahmoud Abbas issued a presidential decree dated Jan. 3 to reinstate the collection of taxes on the Gaza Strip. This decree abolished two previous decrees — one issued in 2007 and another from 2017 — exempting all citizens in the governorates of the Gaza Strip from paying taxes and fees.

Article 3 of Abbas’ freshly issued decree states that the decree shall be submitted to the Palestinian Legislative Council in Ramallah and put to a vote in order to be endorsed at a future session.

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