Globes reports that Israel’s Knesset Finance Committee has approved the new drought tax. At the start of the vote Finance Committee chairman MK Moshe Gafni stated: "This is a very harsh law, but the alternative was either to tax the people, which the committee was able to greatly alleviate, or to turn off the water supply."



The Knesset plenum passed the law in the first reading. The drought tax is scheduled to go to the Knesset plenum for its second and third readings.



The drought tax is to go into effect in three stages: From July 15, when the Knesset is due to pass the law, through October 31, the water consumption quota for a family of up to four individuals will be 16 cubic meters a month, and each additional person will be allocated 4.2 cubic meters of water a month. The original proposal allocated a quota per person of three cubic meters of water per month.



On November 1, the quota for a family of four will increase to 18 cubic meters of water per month, and the quota for each any additional family member will be five cubic meters per month. The reasoning behind the decision is that the critical period for the Water Authority is the current summer, during which Israel is expected to suffer a water shortage due to the drought. The Water Authority hopes that with the start of the winter rainy season, the situation will improve and the water quota can be eased.



The third stage of the drought tax will come into effect in January 2010, when the quota basis will change to a family of two from a family of four, and it will be set at 12 cubic meters of water per month. A family of three will be allocated 15 cubic meters of water per month, and the quota will increase by five cubic meters a month for each additional individual.