Tel Aviv — The Israeli government said that it has not forgone its right to determine through legislation a special tax on Israel Chemicals Ltd. (ICL) excess profits. The state made its position clear in response to an appeal by the country’s leading environmental lobby, the Israel Union for Environmental Defense (IUED). The IUED lodged an appeal against the government’s agreement with ICL, arguing that the agreement did not go far enough. The lobby said that the level of royalties set in the agreement was far too low in comparison to the new tax regime for the oil and gas sector. In addition, the lobby said that the harvesting issue was totally separate and should in no way be linked to royalties on potash extraction. In its response, the government said that at this stage it had no plans to initiate legislation and will not support any private initiatives on the matter. Under the terms of the agreement ICL will cover 80 percent of the cost of harvesting the salt from the Dead Sea’s southern basin in order to prevent the flooding of nearby hotels. In addition, royalty payments are to be increased from 5 to 10 percent. The cost of the operation is estimated at over $1.3 billion. The state also noted in its response that ICL could decide to renege on its commitment if the government decides to set a higher level of royalties through legislation. The state also asked that the appeal be rejected. The court is due to decide on the matter in the coming weeks.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain