Rehovot Wants Weizmann Institute to Pay Local Taxes

Excerpt: "The Rehovot municipality petitioned the High Court of Justice last week to order Minister of the Interior Avraham Poraz to cancel the Weizmann Institute's longstanding exemption from municipal property taxes. The municipality petitioned to prevent changes in the criteria that would further exempt Weizmann Institute from municipal taxes.

The petition states that in February 2003, the High Court of Justice ruled in favor of the Rehovot municipality and ordered the Ministry of the Interior to reconsider Weizmann Institute's exemption from municipal taxes, and to set criteria for exemptions from municipal taxes.

The Rehovot municipality claims that in the 14 months since the ruling, the Ministry of the Interior had not reviewed Weizmann Institute's eligibility for an exemption.

The municipality claims that it is absurd that the Weizmann Institute's NIS 660 million budget is 45% larger than the municipality's. The municipality claims to have a budget deficit of NIS 49 million and a cumulative deficit of NIS 130 million. It claims that Weizmann Institute should pay NIS 35 million a year in municipal taxes, which would cover two-thirds of the municipality's deficit. "

Source: "Rehovot wants Weizmann Institute to pay local taxes" (Shmuel Dekalo and Globes' correspondent, Globes Online, 25 Apr 04, [FullText])