It Pays to Know the System

If there is one word that describes me, I think everyone would agree that it is organized. I planned out my aliyah for a year before I actually came to Israel. I went to every seminar, read every pamphlet and spoke to everyone and their mother about aliyah. And this craziness didn’t stop once I landed.

Nefesh B’Nefesh, the organization that helped me make aliyah, holds seminars from time to time about issues that olim (new immigrants) often ask many questions about- including how to get a job, how to invest money, and taxes. It was at one of these very seminars where I discovered that I was entitled to money from the Israeli government that I never got. Why did I not get it? Simple, I didn’t ask for it.

Apparently there is a law that says that an oleh who works during the first 6 months of his/her aliyah does not have to pay ANY income tax. I knew that olim got a discount on taxes, which I made sure to get, but none of many preparatory seminars I attended told me about this little rule. With the help of the accountant in my office I filled out the necessary forms and brought them to the tax office. Again, I was ready to stand in line after line to wait for the correct person to stamp my form. To my surprise, when I went to the information desk in this department the man glanced over my form, stamped it and sent me on my way. He said that I should see the refund within 3 months. Sure enough after a mere 2 months I checked my account online and saw the money!

Over the next few years I have no doubt that the Israeli government will find plenty of ways to charge me large amounts in taxes, but it does feel good to beat the system…at least once.