Home > Netanyahu seeks fancy office, car, staff, on taxpayer’s dime
Netanyahu seeks fancy office, car, staff, on taxpayer’s dime
by Open-Publishing - Tuesday 9 August 20051 comment
Economy-budget International Governments
By Zvi Zrahiya
Outgoing Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu isn’t wasting time, and plans to gallop forward with his public and political activity on the taxpayer’s dime. After submitting his resignation from the treasury, Netanyahu is checking if the state will finance offices for him in his capacity as a former prime minister. The cost of operating a former premier’s bureau is estimated at NIS 2 million annually.
Former premiers are entitled to employ an office manager, an advisor, a press secretary, secretaries and a driver. They are also afforded a security detail in keeping with Shin Bet security service directives, as well as an armored Volvo or Cadillac.
Former prime ministers Yitzhak Shamir, Ehud Barak and Shimon Peres (before he joined the Ariel Sharon government), as well as Netanyahu, are entitled to former premiers bureaus at the expense of the state budget.
Since losing the 1999 elections, Netanyahu has enjoyed the status of former premier and the state financed his Jerusalem office, car, driver, aides, advisors and clerical staff. In 1999, a public commission on former premiers, ministers and deputies’ salaries decided Netanyahu would be entitled to the services for three years from the end of his term of office. The commission was forced to weigh in on the subject because the law grants the services to former premiers who have accrued 70 percent pensions, while Netanyahu had accrued just 50 percent.
Once taking his position in the cabinet, Netanyahu was no longer entitled to the perk.
Netanyahu’s office responded yesterday that with his resignation, the question of his eligibility for an office and staff was being examined. A finance subcommittee chaired by Labor MK Avraham Shochat is currently drafting new regulations regarding former premier’s offices. Shochat assessed yesterday that Netanyahu was entitled to the office of a former premier.
Forum posts
10 August 2005, 08:21
Well the American taxpayers should hurry and send him a few bilion out of our social security fund the $225,000thousand that the American taxpayers are sending every west bank "re-locator" from our social security fund for new homes and moving expenses and to cover their inconvenience at having to give the Palestinians back their stolen land is just part of the running tab that Israel bills the taxpayers of America for, but our credit is still good even if we have to go begging to the Chinese and Japanese to loan us the money.