Itongadol.- Finance Minister Yair Lapid presented his economic vision for the Jewish State and clarified that he does not intend to stop tax incentives for the country\’s leading corporations like Teva Pharmaceuticals, the world\’s largest generic drug manufacturer which netted $1.9 billion profit for the 2012 fiscal year.
On Thursday morning at the Caesarea Conference in Eilat, the minister addressed attempts to build an economy based on innovation: "All the shouting won\’t help the populists; we will use tax incentives as an economic tool. When I entered the role I discovered that an Intel plant, planned for construction in southern Israel, moved to Ireland. Why? Because Ireland offered them better tax incentives. The shouters were pleased but we lost valuable jobs."
Lapid said at the beginning of his speech that after months of working on the economic strategy of the Finance Ministry, he could present it in two sentences. "What do we want? For Israelis to earn more and their standard of living to increase. How do we get there? By creating an economy based on innovation."
After repeating the importance of innovation to the Israeli market, he said: "If I say it enough times, it becomes a kind of song, and it will enter your head and go home with you."
The central figures presented by Lapid during his speech suggest that in the past decade the rate of growth in Israel was 26.8%, but that over that same period the average monthly wage of an Israeli citizen only grew by 2.1%.
"In other words, the people who raised the profits of this country by more than 26% earned less than 2% towards their own pocket," said Lapid. "They built the Israeli economy, they turned it into a success story, they put it in the top ranks of developed countries – and earned nothing for it. The rich got richer, the poor poorer. The 30 year olds of today are the first generation of Israelis who are worse off than their parents. And it\’s not just that, they also live on their parents\’ dime and are stuck in their parents\’ home. This needs to change."