The government is not considering imposing a tax on the unconventional warfare protection kits distributed to the public contrary to reports suggesting otherwise, the Homefront Defense Ministry said in a statement Tuesday. The Finance Ministry also denied having any plans to that effect. The idea of imposing a tax on the kits, which are distributed to the public by the Israel Defense Forces Homefront Command, was voiced several weeks ago, following a report by State Comptroller Yosef Sahpira criticizing what he called the homefront's lack of war-readiness. Sahpira's report said that the military's inventory of protection kits falls short of meeting the public's needs, which he partially attributed to a lack of proper funding. According to government data, maintaining the kits' distribution program costs the state 1.3 billion shekels ($366.5 million), with an additional NIS 300 million ($84.5 million) a year, which is needed to replace outdated kits. The proposal to impose a tax on the kits was debated by the Knesset's State Control Committee during its meeting Sunday. National Emergency Authority chief Brig. Gen. (res.) Zeev Zuk-Rom told the committee that the kits' funding should derive from increasing the taxes collected by the National Insurance Institute, to a tune of an additional NIS 200 ($56) per person. Zuk-Rom said that the government should consider having the public shoulder some of the program's costs since the kits are meant for civilian use. Head of the Homefront Command headquarters Brig. Gen. Tzviki Tasler noted that only 60% of Israelis will be in possession of updated protection kits by the end of 2013. "This is crazy. The last state budget has imposed too many taxes on the public as it is," Committee Chairman MK Amnon Cohen (Shas) said during the meeting. "Contrary to what has been portrayed as the State Control Committee's position, the Homefront Defense Ministry has no intention of imposing any tax on nonconventional warfare protection kits. The issue of the kits is under the jurisdiction of the Defense Ministry. We regret that such statements, which were never said, have been attributed to ministry officials," the Homefront Defense Ministry said in a statement. A statement by the Finance Ministry said, "We oppose any taxation of nonconventional warfare protection kits." Cohen urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resolve the matter of ministerial jurisdiction over homefront defense issues without delay. Homefront Defense Minister Gilad Erdan said Tuesday that the latest comptroller report has been "a road map by which I have prioritized the ministry's operations." Commenting on the issue of split jurisdiction between the Homefront and Defense ministries on the matter, Erdan said, "I'm sure that the prime minister will make a significant decision on the matter." According to reports, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon was not present at the Knesset's State Control Committee meeting on Sunday.
