Israeli Supreme Court Decides Income Tax Law Discriminates Against Arab Citizens of Israel
(Haifa, Israel) In response to petitions submitted by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and Adalah, the Israeli Supreme Court decided on 15 September 2010 that Amendment 146 to the Income Tax Act is unconstitutional and discriminatory because it bestows tax benefits to several communities without equal, clear and written criteria; not one Arab community received these exemptions.
The Court's decision gave the State the opportunity to amend the Act to eliminate discriminatory elements in the context of its 2011-2012 fiscal legislation. The Court gave the State two months to initiate the process and ordered it to report back to the Court on its progress by 30 November 2010.
In 2005, ACRI by Attorney Auni Banna and Adalah by Attorney Hassan Jabareen petitioned the Supreme Court separately against Amendment 146, a discriminatory clause determining the provision of income tax benefits. The amendment originally afforded tax exemptions to Israeli communities located on the border with the Gaza Strip, but the list quickly expanded to include communities added for political reasons only. The petitioners argued that the provision of significant tax rebates to communities without clear criteria is a violation of the right to equality, and pointed to the fact that not one of the communities enjoying the benefits is Arab. The amendment passed despite the fact that Arab communities suffer from systematic discrimination in state budget allocation and are among the poorest and most neglected communities in Israel.
In the decision, the Court wrote, "The government and the Knesset avoided – in a systematic and longstanding manner – the formulation of a solution to the issues outlined in the petitions; this was in direct contravention of the positions taken by representatives of the Attorney General."
According to Adalah Attorney Sawsan Zaher, who also represented the petitioners, "This ruling is very important for the advancement of socio-economic equality in Israel. The decision clearly states that the provision of tax benefits to certain communities is discriminatory because the cabinet did not consider principles of equality in formulating the criteria for receipt of these benefits, specifically to include Arab communities, which suffer from widespread poverty, especially the Arab Bedouin communities in the Naqab (Negev). This is not the first time that the Supreme Court has ruled against the discrimination of Arab communities in the allocation of economic benefits; three years ago, the Supreme Court ruled against the exclusion of Arab communities in the categorization of communities into national priority areas (which receive benefits), but the cabinet has refused to implement the ruling."
According to ACRI Attorney Auni Banna, "Amendment 146 is an attempt to anchor in law the provision of tax benefits to friends and allies, and not to those who truly need them. This state of affairs violates the basic principles of equality and fair administration, acutely harming the Arab communities whose socio-economic status is the worst among the communities in Israel. Following a long period in which the Supreme Court exhibited exceptional patience toward the government, we welcome the Court's decision which elucidates to the cabinet that the amendment to the Act is unconstitutional and it must be amended or cancelled altogether."
Case Citations:
H.C. 6880/05, Association for Civil Rights in Israel v. Minister of Finance, et. al. H.C. 6901/05, Mayor of Rahat Municipality, et. al. v. Minister of Finance, et. al.
