In apparent defiance of the Knesset, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich signed an order Tuesday expanding the value-added tax exemption on personal imports from $75 to $130, hours after lawmakers voted 59-25 to revoke his previous order, which raised the exemption from $75 to $150. The new order took effect at midnight Tuesday night.

It is highly unusual for the Knesset to overrule ministerial orders. The vote was a notable defeat for Smotrich and reflected divisions in the coalition during an election year.

Smotrich’s new order allows residents to purchase up to $130 of personal goods from overseas without incurring an additional 18 percent VAT charge.

In a statement on X, the far-right minister said that he “will not let a handful of communists in Likud, or the irresponsible opposition that is fighting against Israeli citizens, win.”

He said he would continue fighting against the high cost of living. “The previous order already proved itself even before its expiration tonight in the Knesset,” he wrote. “Israeli citizens stopped being captives of the monopolies, and competition has already begun to lower prices. It can be affordable here.”

Shahar Turgeman, head of the Association of Retail Chains, rapped Smotrich for “humiliating the Knesset members by choosing to openly ignore their decision to cancel the order.”

He said in a statement that business owners........

© The Times of Israel