Nablus - "Jerusalem" dot com - Imad Saadeh - The Board of Directors of the Nablus Chamber of Commerce and Industry informed Minister of Finance Shukri Bishara and an accompanying delegation from the ministry about the needs of the private sector in light of the Israeli siege imposed on Nablus 17 days ago, during a meeting held at the Chamber's headquarters in the presence of Governor Major General Ibrahim Ramadan, Minister of Transport and Communications Assem Salem, Mayor Dr. Sami Hijjawi, and President of the Businessmen Forum Abdel Raouf Hawash.

The Chamber was represented in the meeting by Vice President Othman Musleh, members of the Board of Directors Zahi Anabtawi, Tayel Al-Hawari, Yassin Dwaikat, Bashir Hanani, Moataz Al-Masry, Iyad Al-Kurdi, Majdi Al-Bazra, and a number of members of the Chamber’s General Assembly and auditors.

The Vice President of the Chamber thanked the Minister of Finance for his visit to Nablus today and his interest in discussing topics and issues of concern to the private sector in the governorate due to the abnormal conditions that Nablus is going through due to the siege and closure, and its impact on the private sector establishments and their work.

In turn, Finance Minister Bishara reviewed a number of figures, data and statistical facts that illustrate the work and priorities of the Ministry of Finance at the present time, and dealt with the size of the financial and economic pressures that the Palestinian government is currently exposed to in light of the shrinking financial support for it, noting that any decision can work to facilitate The life of the citizen within the law will be taken into account and implemented.

The minister gave an explanation about the current government's projects, the volume of government collection and the progress being made. The minister and the accompanying delegation also listened to a series of complaints from Nablus institutions and representatives of the private sector, stressing that he would take decisions in order to implement them.

He stressed the need to continue consultation and work with the private sector, given its central role in moving the financial cycle in the country. He also dealt in detail with the reform axes that the ministry has been working on recently. Bishara praised the efforts of the Palestinian private sector and its cooperation with the Ministry of Finance.

The Mayor of Nablus, Sami Hijjawi, gave a presentation on the needs of the Nablus Municipality, the relationship with the Ministry of Finance and the need for the Ministry to pay the municipality's accrued dues from the Ministry of property tax, crafts, professions and water, given the large responsibilities and tasks entrusted to it in recent years.

The speakers at the meeting, including members of the Board of Directors and members of the General Authority, reviewed a number of issues affecting the lives of the private sector and the citizen with the Minister of Finance and the general managers of the Ministry of Finance.

They stressed the priority of resolving outstanding issues of private sector dues and accelerating the completion of their financial transactions. They also demanded the payment of the private sector dues accumulated by the government, especially the contracting sector, hospitals, medicines, etc. Nablus Governorate and the homeland.

And the need to address the crisis of confidence between the taxpayer and the government, in order to work on the steadfastness of the private sector. They stressed the necessity of completing the process of horizontal expansion in collection, not raising taxes, providing facilities and flexibility, and distributing financial resources fairly.

They also noted the necessity of transferring the rest of the files of the major companies to Nablus, suspending the post-audit and evaluation processes, addressing the administrative imbalance in the health sector, and accelerating payment to all suppliers from the private sector, in addition to the demand to raise the tax on imported clothes to protect the sector of sewing workshops in Nablus and others .

The problem of raising the tax on the imported furniture and furnishings sector was also raised and the need to address it. They demanded the payment of tax returns and refunds, in addition to allocating an emergency fund to disburse urgent needs and cases in the city in light of the emerging conditions there.

In the context of his speech, the Minister of Finance instructed the Director General of Customs and Excise in the Ministry to visit Nablus next week and work to solve the problems that were reviewed, and to issue instructions to the directors in the governorate to relieve the taxpayers.

At the end of the meeting, it was agreed on the need to follow up the results of the meeting through joint and continuous cooperation between the institutions of the public and private sectors, in order to work together on more economic development steps, and to facilitate the lives of merchants and businessmen in light of the current conditions of Nablus, which is subject to siege and closure.