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THE ECONOMY
A high-level Income Tax Commission delegation, headed by Income Tax Commissioner Tali Yaron-Eldar, left this week for the US to explain to Israelis, local Jews, and investors in Israel the main points about the forthcoming tax reform and to allay their concerns on this matter. The visit was decided on after the commission received reports that the reform was causing great concern among Israelis working in the US, American Jews wishing to immigrate to Israel, and non-Jewish investors - largely due to erroneous information. The tax reform, which goes into effect on January 1, 2003, includes a change from the territorial taxation system currently used to a personal taxation system. In the meanwhile, a visiting delegation from the International Monetary Fund has presented a report to the Minister of Finance and the Governor of the Bank of Israel urging them to speed up the implementation of the reform and carry it out more quickly than planned. The planned time framework is a period of six years.
Large Israeli investments in Great Britain are expanding. Businessman Benny Steinmetz has acquired some 8%of the large British real estate company Chelsfield at an investment of more than $85 million, while the Israeli real estate company Arazim, has acquired dozens of acres of land for $72 million. Chelsfield's market value - the company specializes in real estate acquisitions in urban areas in Great Britain - is $1.13 billion. Previous acquisitions by Steinmetz include the gigantic London project Canary Wharf and, together with other investors, the British real estate company Eremelsah. The land acquired by Arazim is in Cardiff in northern England. Building covering some 8000 square meters are located on the land, which will be primed for Britain's largest telephone company, British Telecom.
Israel's Gilat company is competing in a giant tender in New Zealand to provide satellite broadband communications services to 300 of the country's schools. Gilat has rich experience in this field after having recently established broadband services for schools in the US through the R-Star company that it recently acquired. Other companies against which Gilat is competing in the tender include Optus, Panamsat, New Skies, Intelsat, and Hughes Electronics, which is its primary competitor.
Tadiran Kesher, which produces communications and computer networks for the military, has received a $13 million order from a South American country that has trade relations with the Israeli company. According to Tadiran, its familiarity with the equipment needs of the country and the type of equipment it acquires, makes it possible to fill the order quickly and it will be completed already this month.
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