The Tax Authority published today (Monday) a set of decisions of the committee for imposing financial sanctions for the first half of 2015.
This is a series of cases in which people were caught by customs after failing to report the entry or withdrawal of funds at border crossings or by mail.
In Israel, there is a reporting obligation for any person entering or leaving Israel with amounts of money (cash, whether in Israeli currency or foreign currency, bank checks and traveler's checks) exceeding 100,000 shekels.
Additionally, anyone who sends or receives money exceeding 100,000 shekels by mail is required to report.
In addition, the reporting threshold for funds carried by a person leaving Israel for Gaza or entering from Gaza into Israel will be 12,000 shekels.
Here are three representative cases:
Story A: The Tourist and the Money from the Horses
On May 11, 2015, a tourist from France passed through the green lane at Ben Gurion Airport with 448,000 euros (1,930,880 shekels) in his possession, without reporting their income, as required by law.
Where did the money come from? The tourist claimed that it came from savings he had accumulated over the years while he owned an advertising agency and from winnings in the lottery and horse racing in France.
However, he said he has been unemployed for the past few years after his business went bankrupt. The tourist claimed that the money was intended for financial assistance to his family members living in Israel, as well as for the purpose of his immigration and settlement in Israel.
The committee did not accept the tourist's version of the source and destination of the funds, as he did not present any references to substantiate his claims. Regarding the reporting obligation, he claimed that he was aware of the reporting obligation in France, but was unsure about the equivalent obligation in Israel and preferred to avoid asking about it for fear that he would have to pay tax on the funds in Israel.
After examining the facts and the tourist's claims, the committee decided to impose a financial sanction on him in the amount of 350,000 shekels.
Story B: Buying an apartment in Segev Shalom
On January 19, 2015, an Israeli citizen left Israel for Egypt via the Taba border crossing with $98,000 (NIS 385,140), which was hidden in the transmission of his vehicle, ostensibly to evade reporting as required by law.
First, the citizen claimed, the source of the money was his work as an employee at a vegetable store in the market and from gifts he received for his wedding. He also noted that he works in occasional porterage jobs and also occasionally provides money exchange services for people in the market.
The man then presented a new version according to which he received 60,000 shekels from his brother and 200,000 shekels from his father-in-law, while the rest of the money came from his savings.
The citizen claimed that the money was intended for the purchase of a building plot in Segev Shalom, and on his way to convert the money into shekels, he was called to another location to perform work, so he forgot, according to his claim, that the $98,000 was in the vehicle and crossed the border with it.
The committee did not accept the citizen's version of events, especially in light of the fact that no references were presented for most of his arguments - and imposed a financial sanction on him in the amount of 120,000 shekels.
Story C: The dentist was tired
On April 12, 2015, an Israeli citizen, a dentist, entered the green lane at Ben Gurion Airport with $40,000 (159,360 shekels), which he did not report as required by law.
The dentist stated in his version that this was a payment for providing dental advice and treatment in Kazakhstan. The invoices presented to the committee revealed that part of the payment he received was transferred to him by bank transfer, and when asked by the committee members why he transferred part of the payment in cash, the doctor did not provide a reasonable explanation.
The doctor claimed that he did not know about the reporting obligation in Israel and that he did not notice the signs in the airport arrival halls regarding the reporting obligation, because he was tired and did not know the exact amount in his possession.
The committee did not accept this claim, since this is a person who frequently travels abroad for his work, and held that he knew about his obligation to report or at least should have inquired about it.
The committee decided to impose a financial sanction of 30,000 shekels.
Join the Haredim 10 Facebook page >>
Join the X page of Haredim 10 >>
Want more news, videos and stories? Join the Haredim 10 WhatsApp channel >>
