One reason for high housing prices in Jerusalem, say economists, is the demand caused by the fact that so many homes are bought up by wealthy Jews from abroad, who use the apartments just a few weeks a year, when they visit for holidays or for the summer. The high prices for purchasing and renting and the severe lack of rental apartments keep young families from settling in the city.
In order to encourage owners of these apartments to rent them out to young couples or students during the “off-season,” the municipality has decided to impose a special “non-occupancy tax” – a doubling of the city real estate tax (arnona) that would apply to apartments and homes that are unlived in for most of the year.
The idea of implementing a tax as a vehicle to encourage landlords to rent out their apartments came from the Trachtenberg Committee on the high cost of living, which met over the summer.
Read More: @ israelnationalnews.com
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