The Public Inquiries Committee, headed by MK Israel Eichler, discussed inquiries from citizens who found themselves in large debts to the National Insurance Institute, without being aware of the debt, since they had not received payment demands for years.
Recently, tens of thousands of people, including thousands of avrechims and housewives, received a demand to pay large sums of money, along with linkage and interest. This includes 300,000 non-working citizens who are required to pay 167 shekels per month, and students and yeshiva students who are required to pay 124 shekels per month.
The applicants claimed that they have no information regarding the sending of the notices and the execution of the foreclosures. They claim that the National Insurance does not inform the debtors that even though they do not earn a living, they must pay National Insurance tax.
Lack of knowledge and failure to send payment slips also leads to the accumulation of interest.
One of the applicants said: "Suddenly I discovered that I owe National Insurance 13,000 shekels for eight years back. This is an astronomical amount for me. If they had informed me in advance, the problem would have been solved. You can't come and collect eight years back for a debt that I didn't even know I had. If I had been aware of this, I could have taken care not to get into such a debt, but no one bothered to inform me.".
MK Eichler: "In the distant past, we thought that the National Insurance Institute guaranteed the social security of citizens, but it has become an aggressive tax that the government collects from citizens. When a citizen needs assistance, the soul goes out until they receive the entitlement that is legally due.".
""The National Insurance Institute has become a tax extension of the Ministry of Finance. It has long ceased to be a charitable institution. In certain sections, such as child benefits, it has become a treasury depository. It is impossible for a person who has no income to pay tax.".
MK Osama Saadi: "It is clear that after the enactment of the statute of limitations law, the National Insurance Institute was alerted and began trying to collect before the statute of limitations.".
Yigal Barzani, VP of Insurance Collection and Investigations, explained: "Avrechims pay 124 NIS, of which 103 NIS is health insurance. That is, 21 NIS for National Insurance, which is allocated mainly for disability care and personal accidents, to which Avrechims are also entitled.".
Barzani informed the committee members about a significant change in the field: "We started the operation on June 22. As soon as you pay the principal, all fine and linkage debts are canceled. We have increased the option to 48 payments.
""There are a variety of payment options, by direct debit or credit card without using up the entire amount of the debt. In certain cases, the branch manager can approve a wider spread of even more than 48 payments. Anyone who chooses to deduct the amount of the debt from the child benefits they are entitled to can request this by sending a fax to the local branch and their request will be honored. There is no need to come to the institution at all. You can also use the call center, which is open until 8:00 PM, or at the reception desk at the local branches, which are also open in the afternoon.
""In 1995, the Health Insurance Law came into effect and people who don't work pay the minimum that most people pay for health insurance. Until then, for example, the university would collect tuition through their salaries and we didn't have to collect. Now, they've basically put all residents of the State of Israel into the system. So with almost the same workforce, we would have had to add more than a million people to the system.".
Eichler concluded the discussion by saying: "The National Insurance Company must clearly announce that there is a payment campaign and cancellation of fines and attachments, to all those who were just required to pay old debts. From today on, the National Insurance Company must send letters to those who owe the minimum tax, from the day they are required to pay, just like to employees. So that every taxpayer knows what they have to pay for, as health tax and as accident and nursing care insurance. Every year, every taxpayer will receive the balances of their debt, including a payment book. Don't come every few years, imposing a heavy debt on people who have no income.".
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