Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich instructed his new ministry on Sunday to prepare directives to cancel the tax on disposable plasticware and on soft drinks implemented by the former government.

The cancellation is set to take effect in the following days and was Smotrich’s first official decision, taken just hours after the conclusion of his initiation ceremony.

Both taxes were instituted by former Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman, on plasticware in 2021 and soft drinks in 2022.

What was the original intention for the tax?

Its intention was to cut down the consumption of plasticware in order to reduce pollution, as well as cut down sugar consumption, especially in low-income families, in order to reduce diabetes and other diseases.