Israel cuts fuel excise tax, gasoline to fall from NIS 8.27 to NIS 7.77

The price of a liter of gasoline in Israel is set to fall by half a shekel, from NIS 8.27 to NIS 7.77, after Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich signed an order reducing the excise tax on fuel, according to a statement released by the Israeli government. The statement says the order takes effect on Sunday at midnight.

The announcement was framed as a joint decision by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Smotrich. The government presented the cut as a response to rising fuel costs abroad, saying that while prices are climbing worldwide, it is acting so they "do not soar in Israel."

What the order changes

An excise tax is a levy charged on particular goods, in this case fuel, rather than a general sales tax applied across the economy. Because it is built into the pump price, a change in the rate feeds directly through to what drivers pay. The government statement gives a single concrete figure: gasoline drops by half a shekel per liter, taking it from NIS 8.27 to NIS 7.77. NIS stands for new Israeli shekel, the national currency.

The statement refers to gasoline specifically. It does not give figures for other fuels.

Who made the decision

Netanyahu heads what the government's own website labels the 37th Government, the cabinet now in office. Smotrich, as finance minister, holds the authority to sign the tax order, and the statement names him as its signatory. The release is headlined as an agreement between the two men.

The government's wider claims

Beyond the fuel cut itself, the government statement makes several broader assertions. It says Israel's electricity prices are among the lowest in the West, and attributes this to the government's insistence on developing natural gas reserves and bringing competition into electricity generation. It also describes the Israeli economy as "breaking records" and says the government will continue to manage it "responsibly."

These are claims made by the government about its own record. The release does not cite data to support them, and no other report in the material available to us addresses them. Readers should treat them as the government's position rather than as established findings.

Why fuel prices matter to readers abroad

For people weighing a move to Israel, or following the cost of living there, the price of fuel is one of the more visible everyday expenses, and it is often quoted per liter in shekels. The figures in this announcement give a reference point: before the cut, the statement puts a liter of gasoline at NIS 8.27, and after it at NIS 7.77.

What the reports do not say

This account rests on a single source, an official government statement, and several questions are left open by it:

• Duration. The statement does not say whether the tax reduction is temporary or permanent, or whether it is tied to an end date or a review.
• Cost to the treasury. There is no estimate of how much revenue the state gives up by lowering the tax, or how that will be covered.
• Other fuels. Only gasoline is mentioned. The statement does not say whether diesel or other fuel types are affected.
• Size of the tax change. The release gives the effect on the pump price but not the new excise rate itself or the size of the reduction in tax terms.
• Reaction. No response from opposition parties, economists, fuel companies or consumer groups appears in the material.
• Supporting evidence. The claims about electricity prices and record economic performance are not accompanied by figures.