As part of the project: “Tax justice, budget monitoring and citizen participation in the oPt” implemented by MIFTAH in participation with AMAN, TCC and ARIJ Institute with funding from OXFAM, a workshop was recently held in which the results of the 2011 Palestinian income tax review and its amendments, were launched. Focus was put on the current condition of taxes regarding income tax from the perspective of social and economic justice and also on linking the study’s results to international criteria of integrity and transparency to gauge the extent of justice in tax collection.
The results of the review concluded with a number of recommendations including:Providing remedies to the constitutional and procedural encroachments brought by the entire process that produced the Income Tax Law, also avoiding making further amendments without approval from the PLC.; It is important to consider the socioeconomic conditions of the taxpayers, particularly when considering allowable deductions for dependency, university education and healthcare, allowing also for preferential treatment for productive activities and vulnerable areas, and areas threatened by the separation wall and settlements ; increasing the number of tax brackets to 5 (instead of 3) to ensure better Socioeconomic justice in society, and imposing higher rates on the fourth and fifth brackets; expanding the tax base and extend the coverage to additional incomes (or those with weak coverage) such as the self-employed professions, capital transactions and trade in real estate.; Granting full income tax exemptions to agricultural income and pensions; Enhancing coordination between tax departments and representatives of taxpayers through a computerized tax system; and exchanging information and coordination with other government departments. Supporting the tax department with the financial resources and logistics needed to build the capacity of the staff, as well as offering training courses for the tax department staff; expanding community engagement through discussions with concerned groups; reconsidering the tax burden to include/further spot non-traditional, non-value added activities that achieve big profits and to increase the exemptions for lower-income earners, individuals/businesses engaged in productive activities, and vulnerable rural areas.
Two position papers
Two position papers were presented at the workshop. The first was entitled: “Taxes, fees and achieving social justice” which concluded with several points such as the following: the tax, fees and collection system as a system enforced within the framework of the PA lacks a system of social justice. It also has vague and unclear points and lacks cognitive awareness vis-à-vis the occupation’s practices and impacts.
Social justice is achieved through unifying the legal bond of the financial system as a whole, and strengthening mechanisms for accountability, monitoring, transparency and the enforcement of the law on all sectors without discrimination. It is also through reaffirming the urgent need to raise awareness among citizens and through the active participation of communities; through clarifying financial and tax policies and their tangible reflection in social, services and economic issues; and through clearer policies to support marginalized areas targeted by the occupation.
The position paper also reaffirmed that development sectors such as education, health and basic services like water, electricity, sanitation and street lighting, are determinants for development, safety rights and basic dignified living for each and every citizen. This is in addition to promoting the role of civil society institutions and media organizations and reviving the role of information technology and social mediums as a way to bridge the gap between the parties.
The second position paper was entitled: “Social participation in monitoring budgets and the mechanisms of public spending.” The paper concluded with a group of results including: promoting the role of institutions in social participation; preparing special programs for strategic planning and expanding their scope to include mechanisms for monitoring public spending; the need to update legal and financial centers that could help civil society to better understand financial issues in addition to formulating clear mechanisms for monitoring collection and spending; more legal accountability and specialized monitoring; enacting the monitoring and legislative role; promoting mechanisms of independent monitoring through renewing special commissions in this regard and in partnership with the various relevant parties; forming support committees for local bodies comprised of all sectors of the community; opening up municipalities to the public so they could be a platform for pressuring the government to fulfill its commitments; promoting participation in the preparation of the budget and monitoring the mechanisms of public spending on development projects.
MIFTAH project coordinator Shadi Zeidat pointed out that this type of research and studies is part of a framework for reviving civil society and influencing public opinion towards addressing issues pertaining to financial policies and the tax system. He continued that it is also aimed at pressuring the government and legislators to consider the justice perspective as a basis in formulating financial policies and legislation in a way that would protect Palestinian citizens’ rights and guarantee public interest in public spending policies.
خلال ورشة عمل في رام الله
'مفتاح' تطلق نتائج مراجعة قانون ضريبة الدخل الفلسطيني 2011 وتعديلاته اللاحقة من منظوري العدالة الاجتماعية والاقتصادية
تاريخ النشر: 02/01/2016
بقلم: مفتاح
رام الله – في إطار برنامج "تفعيل المشاركة المجتمعية في الرقابة على الموازنة العامة والإصلاح الضريبي"، الذي تنفذه "مفتاح" بالشراكة مع ائتلاف "أمان" ، ومركز إبداع المعلم، ومعهد أريج، وبدعم من مؤسسة "أوكسفام"، عقدت مؤخرا ورشة عمل تم خلالها إطلاق نتائج مراجعة قانون ضريبة الدخل الفلسطيني 2011، وتعديلاته اللاحقة، حيث جرى تسليط الضوء على الواقع الضريبي الحالي المتعلق بضريبة الدخل من منظور العدالة المجتمعية والاقتصادية، وربط نتائج الدراسة بمعايير النزاهة والشفافية الدولية، ومدى عدالة الجباية الضريبية المتعلقة بالشرائح الضريبية من جهة أخرى.
وأكدت نتائج مراجعة قانون ضريبة الدخل الفلسطيني 2011، وتعديلاته اللاحقة، على مجموعة من التوصيات، من أبرزها: ضرورة معالجة الخلل الدستوري والإجرائي الذي أحدثه مسار إقرار قانون الضريبة وتوقف الحكومة عن إجراء مزيد من التعديلات دون الرجوع للمجلس التشريعي. وضرورة التمييز بين المكلفين حسب أوضاعهم الاجتماعية والاقتصادية وخصوصاً ما يتعلق بمصاريف العلاج والتعليم الجامعي والإعالة. وإعطاء ميزة تفضيلية للمكلفين والأنشطة الاقتصادية الإنتاجية والعاملة في المناطق الجغرافية النائية والمهددة بالجدار والاستيطان. وزيادة عدد الشرائح الضريبية بما يضمن تحقيق مستوى أفضل من العدالة الاجتماعية والاقتصادية في المجتمع. وتوسيع القاعدة الضريبية وشمولها لقطاعات ودخول لم تصلها من قبل أو أن مستوى التغطية فيها ضعيف مثل المهن الحرة والصفقات الرأسمالية وتجارة العقارات والأراضي. وإعفاء الدخل الزراعي والرواتب التقاعدية وعدم إخضاعها لضريبة الدخل. وتحسين مستوى التنسيق بين دوائر الضريبة والأجسام الرقابية والممثلة لفئات اجتماعية مكلفة بالضريبة عبر التعامل الالكتروني وتبادل المعلومات والتنسيق مع الدوائر الرسمية الأخرى. ورفد الجهاز الضريبي بالإمكانات المادية واللوجستية المطلوبة لتحسين أداء العاملين فيه، وعقد دورات تدريبية لتأهيل وتطوير العناصر البشرية العاملة في الجهاز الضريبي. وتوسيع دائرة المشاركة المجتمعية، وتغليب لغة الحوار والنقاش مع الفئات الاجتماعية المتأثرة بقانون الضريبة. وتوزيع العبء الضريبي بشكل أفضل بحيث تطال الضريبة الفئات والأنشطة الاقتصادية غير التقليدية والتي تحقق أرباحاً كبيرة ولا تسهم في بتحقيق قيمة مضافة للاقتصاد والمجتمع، وزيادة الإعفاءات للفئات الأقل دخلاً وللمنشآت العاملة في الأنشطة الإنتاجية والمناطق الجغرافية النائية.
ورقتا موقف
وعرضت خلال الورشة ورقتا موقف أعدتا بالخصوص، حملت الأولى عنوان:" الضرائب والرسوم وتحقيق العدالة الاجتماعية"، خلصت إلى مجموعة من النتائج من أبرزها: أن نظام الضرائب والرسوم والجباية كنظام معمول به ضمن نطاق السلطة الوطنية، يفتقر لمنظومة العدالة الاجتماعية، ويشوبه بعض الضبابية والتشوهات ونقص الوعي المعرفي في ظل ظروف الاحتلال وممارساته وتأثيراته.
في حين تتحقق العدالة من خلال توحيد السند القانوني الخاص بالنظام المالي ككل، مع تعزيز آليات المساءلة والرقابة والشفافية وتطبيق القانون على كافة الفئات دون تمييز. والتأكيد على الحاجة الماسة لرفع مستوى الوعي لدى المواطنين، والمشاركة الفاعلة للمجتمعات المحلية، ووضوح السياسات المالية والضريبية وانعكاسها بشكل ملموس في القضايا الاجتماعية والخدماتية والاقتصادية على المواطنين، والعمل بسياسات واضحة لدعم المناطق المهمشة والمستهدفة من قبل الاحتلال ضمن لائحة الأولويات باعتبار ذلك ضرورة مالية وتنموية.
كما أكدت ورقة الموقف، على أن القطاعات التنموية كالتعليم والصحة والخدمات الأساسية كالماء والكهرباء، والصرف الصحي، والشوارع والإنارة هي أحد محددات التنمية والسلامة الحقوقية والكرامة المعيشية الأساسية لكل مواطن، بالإضافة إلى تعزيز دور مؤسسات المجتمع المدني والمؤسسات الاعلامية، وتفعيل دور تكنولوجيا المعلومات والوسائط الاجتماعية لجسر الفجوة بين هذه الأطراف.
أما ورقة الموقف الثانية، والتي حملت عنوان:" المشاركة المجتمعية في الرقابة على الموازنات وآليات الصرف العام"، فخلصت هي الأخرى إلى مجموعة من النتائج، من أهمها: تعزيز دور المؤسسات للمشاركة المجتمعية، وإعداد البرامج الخاصة بالتخطيط الاستراتيجي، وتوسيع مساحاتها، ما يضمن آليات الرقابة على الصرف، وضرورة استحداث مراكز خاصة قانونية ومالية تساعد المجتمع المدني في فهم القضايا المالية مع وضع آليات واضحة لمراقبة الجباية والصرف، وأن تكون هناك مساءلة قانونية ورقابة من ذوي الاختصاص، وتفعيل الدور الرقابي والتشريعي، وتعزيز آليات الرقابة المستقلة عن طريق استحداث هيئات خاصة في هذا السياق، وبشراكة مع مختلف الأطراف ذوي الشأن، وتشكيل لجان مساندة للهيئات المحلية من من جميع أطياف وفئات المجتمع المحلي، وانفتاح البلديات أمام جمهورها ليشكل لها قاعدة ضاغطة على الحكومة كي تفي بالتزاماتها، وتعزز من المشاركة في إعداد الموازنة والرقابة على آليات الصرف العام تجاه البرامج التنموية.
وأشار شادي زيدات منسق المشروع، إلى أن إعداد مثل هذا النوع من البحوث والدراسات، يأتي في لإطار تفعيل المجتمع المدني والتأثير بالرأي العام، لتناول القضايا المتعلقة بالسياسات المالية والنظام الضريبي، والضغط باتجاه التزام الحكومة والمشرع الفلسطيني بالاستناد إلى منظور العدالة في رسم السياسات والتشريعات المالية بشكل يحقق حماية لحقوق المواطن الفلسطيني، ويضمن المصلحة العامة في سياسة الانفاق العام.
MIFTAH releases 2021-2022 comparative actual spending reports for the social and security sectors, including social justice and gender indicators
Date posted: April 04, 2023
By MIFTAH
MIFTAH recently released 2021-2022 comparative actual spending reports for the social sector (health, education, higher education and scientific research, social development and labor), and for the first time, the security sector (Ministry of Interior and National Security). The reports were based on annual financial data released by the Ministry of Finance in Palestine for 2021-2022 and on an accrual basis.
The data showed that the Ministry of Interior and National Security had the highest percentage of actual spending in 2022, accounting for 22.8% of overall public expenditures, or ILS3.68 billion. This was a slight increase from the Ministry’s share in 2021. Meanwhile, actual spending on the education sector (Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Scientific Research) stood at 21.5% of overall public expenditures, or ILS3.48 billion. This was also an increase from the education sector’s share in 2021, which was 20.6% of public expenditures.
Moreover, actual spending on the Ministry of Health also increased in 2022, comprising 15% of overall public expenditures, at a sum of ILS2.4 billion. This was higher than in 2021, where its share was 14.4%. As for the Ministry of Social Development, actual spending was still low, amounting for 6.2% of overall public expenditures in 2022, compared to 5.8% in 2021. The Ministry of Social Development’s actual spending in 2022 was approximately ILS1 billion. As for the labor sector, actual spending on this sector in 2022 was 0.31% of overall public expenditures, while in 2021 it was 0.28%. Actual spending on the labor sector in 2022 was ILS50.1 million.
Upon review of actual spending reports of the targeted ministries from a gender and social justice perspective, it is clear that actual spending on the Ministry of Social Development does not coincide with the scope of its responsibilities as the forerunner of the social sector in Palestine, including its programs for combatting poverty and the protection of poor and marginalized social sectors. Moreover, non-compliance to the disbursement of payments for poor families within the CTP continued according to estimates, whereby only two of four installments for 2022 were disbursed, one at minimum value. This adversely affected the financial security of the most underprivileged and marginalized sectors of society, in addition to the insufficient estimated budget and actual spending on the social protection program, in spite of its importance in providing protection and social services to battered women, children, special-needs persons and the elderly.
The data also pointed to the low percentage of women working in the security sector, which stood at 6% of the total number of workers in this sector, while they comprised 46% of the civil sector. This shows a gap in actual spending on the security sector from a gender perspective, given that the lion’s share of actual spending in 2022 was on salaries and wages. Hence, women only benefited very little from these allocations, which were nearly ILS2.9 billion in 2022.
The data also indicated that the development expenditures for the Ministry of Labor were only ILS4.5 million in 2022, even though planned development expenditures were ILS32 million, which is much higher. This casts a shadow on gender-related programs and projects, which were allotted sizeable budgets within development expenditures, such as creating sustainable opportunities as alternatives for Palestinian men and women working in settlements, for which ILS10 million were earmarked.
Even though there was an increase in actual spending in 2022 at the targeted ministries in general, this increase was mainly concentrated on salaries and wages. In spite of the importance of providing a decent life for employees, there is still a need to increase spending on development expenditures, since they are at the forefront of developing government services, including the nationalization and institutionalization of various social services.
MIFTAH concludes town hall meetings on political participation and citizens’ rights for women and youth
Date posted: January 09, 2023
By MIFTAH
Ramallah – 29/12/2022 – Within its efforts to promote democratic values and the peaceful transfer of power within the Palestinian government system, MIFTAH’s field advisory team completed over 100 town hall meetings in the second half of 2022. The meetings were held in coordination and cooperation with CSOs, LGUs and grassroots organizations and targeted women and youth in several West Bank and Gaza Strip districts. The objective of these meetings was to raise awareness among the electorate on the electoral system in Palestine and on civil society demands to increase women and youth participation in local and general elections as candidates and voters, on the premise that this boosts their presence in decision-making levels and involves them in public affairs.
The town hall meetings included several exchange visits between LGU members in the various districts. The women shared the experiences and challenges they faced after becoming council members. The meetings focused on the concept of citizenship within a broader definition of the various forms of political participation and the importance of involvement from youth and women in public life. They also pointed to the different forms of democracy and the main pillars of the democratic society Palestinians seek to create. The participants furthermore discussed the various forms of electoral systems and shed light on the gaps in electoral laws regarding the presence of women and youth.
The participants pointed to the importance of periodic legislative and presidential elections and the danger of the ongoing absence of the PLC on matters pertaining to civic peace. They also warned against the absence of oversight and accountability, maintaining that the defunct PLC has contributed to shrinking civic space and public freedoms and therefore, the ability or desire to become involved in political life, especially for women and youth. In most of the meetings, the participants also indicated that the absence of a regular democratic process in Palestine contributed to the overall exclusion of youth from participation and to the marginalization of the role of women in Palestinian political decision-making.
The town hall meetings stressed on the importance of pressing for legislative, presidential and local elections in all West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza Strip districts. They also endorsed the demand for equality in electoral laws, starting with raising the women’s quota to a minimum of 30%, raising the candidacy age and lowering the threshold. They urged Palestinian factions to assume a key role in the process of inclusion for women and youth in the public sphere and to prevent the progression of tribalism in the democratic process. The attendees emphasized the importance of monitoring the performance of LGUs in their interaction with local communities and the consistency of their meetings. Finally, they said female council members must be given the opportunity to exercise their role in their respective councils as equals to their male counterparts.
MIFTAH holds town hall meetings on an annual basis as part of its awareness campaign on citizens’ rights and the promotion of the democratic approach for a peaceful transfer of power, in addition to the involvement of women and youth in elections as both candidates and voters. Each year, through these town hall meetings, MIFTAH aims to reach the widest possible segment of the electorate and the different social sectors in all parts of Palestine.
MIFTAH completes training workshop in the Gaza Strip on family protection and advocacy
Date posted: January 05, 2023
By MIFTAH
Gaza – 2/1/2023 – MIFTAH recently completed a training workshop on measures and regulations on family protection in the Gaza Strip. The workshop was part of MIFTAH’s strategic objectives to prioritize family issues in communities and to support local institutions in increasing awareness on citizenship and constitutional rights for Palestinian women and on combatting all forms of GBV and discrimination in Palestinian society.
The workshop’s objectives included providing institutions with important information on the legislations, laws and measures for family protection in effect in the Gaza Strip, in a bid to enhance the oversight role of CSOs in holding accountable official parties responsible for enforcing these measures and legislations. The training also included offering institutions the necessary mechanisms for managing digital and media campaigns to press for the ratification of laws and legislation that protect women’s rights.
The discussions focused on a number of points, including legal (including sharia law) rebuttals to claims from parties opposing legislation, including the Family Protection Law. They also discussed how applicable this law would be in the Gaza Strip once ratified by the President.
The participants unanimously agreed that they supported adoption of the law, giving no credence to the claims of more extreme elements in Gaza on the Family Protection Law. They called on MIFTAH to hold general, open meetings with the public to introduce them to the law and its importance, so that they could defend themselves from the extremist discourse surrounding it.
Opinions and impressions
One of the participants, Latifa Shatat, said such training workshops were crucial for every Palestinian, male and female. “It is great we are pressing for protection laws such as the Family Protection Bill. This law will have tremendous impact on society as a whole. I can say from experience as a social and mental health worker that protection is the most important element in our work, especially in cases involving women and children, who are the most vulnerable social sectors. I commend MIFTAH and anyone who participates in spreading a culture of nonviolence, protection, justice and equality.”
Meanwhile, Haifa Al Araj said the training offered important details about the Family Protection Law and also ways of conducting initiatives and activities that could produce positive results in mobilizing support it.
Another participant, Hatem Abu Ta’a, said the training was a new starting point for him as an institution director in terms of integrating the demand to implement the Family Protection Law in all advocacy and lobbying activities and programs. He said he became more aware of the impediments to the law’s implementation at the official and social level, saying, “This training reminds us to renew our calls to demand implementation and ratification of the law at the official level.”
Meanwhile, Mahmoud Abu Rabee said ratification of the Family Protection Law would be a huge step, for women and children especially. “This law will amplify women’s voices and their ability to access help with stronger and more supportive centers throughout the homeland. As a strong supporter of this bill, I want to stress on the importance of civil society institutions explaining the clauses in the bill pertaining to CEDAW and to also focus on working with parties that oppose the law in particular.”
The training workshop is part of MIFTAH’s “Policy dialogue and Good Governance” Program, which aims at influencing public policies and legislation in favor of protection for citizens’ rights in Palestinian society, based on the principles of social justice and respect for human rights.
