Knesset lawmakers on Tuesday voted 59-23 to revoke Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s order raising the value-added tax exemption threshold on personal imports from $75 to $130, effectively restoring the previous $75 limit.

“All those who voted this evening against raising the VAT exemption on products ordered from overseas hurting the pockets of Israeli citizens,” Smotrich wrote on X in response.

The vote marked the latest setback for Smotrich’s efforts to lower the tax on personal imports and a rare instance of the Knesset overturning a ministerial order, while reflecting divisions in the coalition ahead of elections later this year.

In February, Smotrich signed an order in defiance of the Knesset to increase the exemption to $130, just hours after the body voted 59-25 to revoke his earlier order raising the threshold to $150.

The measure drew opposition from lawmakers across........

© The Times of Israel