Israeli budget spares duty-free allowances

Israeli finance minister Ronnie Bar-On has announced the country’s budget proposal for 2008, with no mention of the cuts in duty-free allowances anticipated by many observers. The government had previously debated halving travellers’ allowance from $200 to $100, but the proposal was abandoned in the final announcement.

According to Israeli business website Globes Online, the cuts were abandoned because departures shops would have had to update their point-of-sale software to accommodate the new rules, and because legislators feared long queues at shops caused by lack of awareness of the new allowances.

A proposed $1.50 per night tax on tourist stays was also cancelled.