Global Daily Tax News, Israel To Double VAT Exempt Allowance For Personal Imports, (Dec 3, 2025)

Israel's Finance Minister has announced plans to double the current value-added tax-exempt threshold for personal imports.

The Minister has announced plans to sign an order, within 21 days, to raise the threshold for personally imported purchases from USD75 to USD150.

The measure is intended to support households, by allowing taxpayers to acquire goods overseas, noting that Israeli consumer prices can be substantially higher than those in European countries.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said: "Israeli consumers pay more than their peers in Western countries. The main reason for this lies in the fact that entire sectors are held by monopolies and tycoons who take advantage of the closed economy to extort an expensive and unjustified price from the Israeli consumer. I have decided to increase competition in this field and thereby reduce the cost of living for households in Israel."