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2022-07-29 Israel-Palestine-Jordan
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Cash-strapped Hamas raises taxes in impoverished Gaza, sparking rare protests
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[IsraelTimes] Decision to raise taxes on imported clothes and school supplies comes at a time already marked by financial hardship; clothes merchants stage protest in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamaswith about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response ...
City.
The Hamas, the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®, terror group, the de facto ruler of Gaza, has imposed a slew of new taxes on imported clothes and office supplies just ahead of the new school year, sparking limited but rare protests in the impoverished coastal strip.
Continued from Page 2
The move by the terror group comes at a time when Gaza’s 2.3 million people are suffering not only from a 15-year Israeli-Egyptian blockade, but also from a new jump in prices caused by global supply-chain issues and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
"This is a wrong, oppressive decision that destroys the national economy," said Nahed al-Sawada, who imports clothes from China and The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
 ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...
A list by the Hamas-run Economy Ministry in Gaza includes planned taxes on items like packaged nuts, with an import tariff of 2,000 shekels (nearly $600) per ton. In the past, nuts were imported tax-free. The tariff on a ton of toilet paper rose from $90 to $580. The taxes are set to go into effect on August 1.
The list also includes a tax of about $3 on a pair of jeans, and $230 on a ton of plastic folders used to store papers. Demand for these items increases ahead of the school year.
Emad Abdelhadi, a representative for Gaza’s union of clothes’ merchants, said a new pair of jeans sells for $3 to $10, and the new tax will pose an unfair burden on struggling consumers.
With tens of thousands of civil servants to support, as well as its heavy spending on its military wing, it is no surprise that Hamas is seeking new sources of revenue. Still, the timing is questionable, coming at a time when the Russian invasion of Ukraine has driven up consumer prices worldwide.
Hamas authorities say the new taxes are meant to protect the local industries. But experts and business people challenge this argument, since badly needed raw materials are now being taxed.
Mohammed Abu Jayyab, an economist, said the taxes have failed to protect local manufacturers because the government still taxes raw materials and production lines.
A front man for the Economy Ministry did not return requests for comment.
Hamas doesn’t release figures on its funding resources or budgets, but the latest steps are part of a series of taxes targeting a wide array of sectors, from street vendors selling hot drinks to restaurants, home buildings and cars.
The group offers few services in exchange, and most aid and relief projects are covered by the international community. The funds help Hamas operate a government and powerful armed wing.
Protests against Hamas are rare and often met by force. But earlier this month, about two dozen members of the clothes merchants’ union expressed their frustration in public. They stood inside the building housing their union in Gaza City and held new pairs of jeans, with the price tags still on them, in the air for about half an hour.
Two days later, the merchants gathered outside the offices of Hamas politicians. Police prevented the media from filming and ordered the protest to stop after allowing representatives of the union inside to talk to the politicians. The protest ended peacefully.
"The politicians acknowledged the taxes were high, and said they will look into it," said Abdelhadi, the union representative.
But he said he did not expect a positive outcome. "By these decisions, they have issued a death sentence
...the barbaric practice of sentencing a murderer to be punished for as long as his/her/its victim is dead...
against the industry." 
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Posted by trailing wife 2022-07-29 04:28||
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File under: Hamas
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Posted by NN2N1 2022-07-29 08:57||
2022-07-29 08:57||
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