How do you feel if you get jilted or betrayed by a lover? I’ll let you describe that by yourself. How am I supposed to feel if the country I chose as my home, 50 years ago, effectively puts me out of business and makes me unemployable at 64? I’ll answer that myself – screwed and betrayed. Laws are written so that we lead a life with some sort of logic. We expect the law to protect us and provide us with justice right? That’s not always the case. Sometimes the police will screw us in the name of the law. Sometimes those appointed to protect us, including judges, are actually sent to prison themselves for criminal acts. Many of those appointed fail miserably. In fact, judges on many occasions hand down punishment to criminals of one kind or another that only they understand. Ludicrous. I’ve never heard of a judge being made to answer for stupidity and it’s happening every day. Why can they get away with sentences that all normal people would only describe as ridiculous? And yet they are not answerable. But this is not about judges. It’s about the system. I’m 64. Unemployable after giving the best years of my life to my adopted country. Served my 3 years in the army like most others, apart from those that screw the system (and get away with it). Went on to giving more years of my life in the name of ‘love of country’. At one point in time, I was sent home, at the ripe old age of 24, because of a guy by the name of Ahmed. Silly sod. Had a moustache and got shot because of that. Anyway, at 24, found myself out in the big world, without professional advice, looking to pick up the pieces of my life, after having lived a sort of fairy tale or more precisely, a life that Ian Fleming could describe in far more colorful detail. Not easy going from such an environment into a world of ‘normality’. To cut a long story short, after 20 years or continuous searching, I finally found something that gave me an opportunity to feel I was doing something worthwhile. Something that allowed me to contribute yet again to the country I felt so strongly about. I began sending young people to volunteer their summer, give up all privacy, work extremely hard and not get paid for it. Counselors to summer camps. I called them ‘Shagririm’. Ambassador’s in English. And indeed they were. Via my ‘Shagririm’, we reached tens of thousands of young American kids during their time at an American summer camp. We met thousands upon thousands of young people from around the world who also came to camp and volunteered their time. My ‘Shagririm’ opened up a window for so many to peek through and understand we are not as we appear through the media. That we have a beautiful country and that there is not one warmonger living amongst us. A people yearning for peace surrounded by hatred. Of women breading scumbags and who rejoice when the vermin they breed explode themselves up killing innocent men, women and children. Surrounded by children, as young as 5 or 6, in army drill, training to shoot and hopefully kill one day a ‘yehud’. They are being trained by the scumbags mentioned earlier. But this is not about scumbags. It’s about the system. My company, my dedicated staff, Adi, Yifat, Neta-li and others, gave years of their lives in helping to send the thousands of Shagririm. In doing so, the Foreign Office actually thanked us for contributing to the ‘hasbara’ effort. By the way, we ALL worked for minimum salaries. But this is not about hasbara. It’s about the system. I was proud of what we were doing. Maybe naive because it certainly wasn’t for personal gain. But I was proud. We all were. I once mentioned that nobody could take this away from me. It was my ‘baby’. My creation. Unlike the guy named Herarri who send me home back then in 1974, for no fault of my own (was Ahmed’s fault) I was in charge of my own destiny. How wrong could I be? Turns out – totally wrong. Along come the government office known as ‘maam’. The same government I had served for so many years and representatives of the country I was so proud to be able to contribute to. They came along and demanded 400,000nis. Not because of any fraud mind you. The company had a solicitor. An accountant. Even specific legal tax law advice given by one of the top tax law solicitors in the country. The legal advice I received was that I was exempt on paying tax for income derived from abroad. Otherwise, all applicable taxes had been paid. No, not because of fraud are they demanding 400,000nis. But on THEIR interpretation of their own laws. A Google search of 30 a 5 proves that many lawyers and companies don’t understand the law 30 a 5 and end up in court leaving a judge to interpret his views of the law. I’m in the clutches of the system and it’s grinding me into the ground.. As you know, law and rules are written in a language that even judges have to study properly, not to mention lawyers. These people go to university to learn a language none of us common folk understand. That’s why we end up needing lawyers. There is a saying here that even if you don’t know the law, you are still held responsible. Fair enough. As the law is written in a language I can’t understand anyway, I take on legal advice (not given freely but at considerable cost) in order to operate within the law. One of the laws in this country is known by the following code 30 a 5. What is that law? It was a law passed that anyone offering a service to a foreigner in a foreign country is exempt from paying ‘maam’ or vat as some would know it, on income derived from such services. The lawmaker, the government in other words, wanted to encourage exports and therefore passed that law. So all exporters are exempt on paying maam or vat on income derived from abroad. This brings in needed foreign currency and also allows companies to compete with other foreign companies and not be 17-18% more expensive. Makes sense right? What more, as a company owner, can I be expected to do? I pay taxes when told to. I seek the advice of learned individuals who’s profession is tax law. I abide by the advice I’m given and STILL, it’s not enough. So, for years, I have been sending ‘shagririm’ who volunteer their time and effort, for no personal gain, whilst contributing to this country (and everyone will agree our ‘hasbara’ sucks). We are not doing too well in that field. However, we, my staff, my ‘shagririm’ made a difference. We have thousands of emails, postcards, letters of thanks from camps, staff, organizations all saying we made a difference. But the government, or ‘maam’ think differently. They think the company should pay on income derived from abroad hence they are asking for 400,000nis. Maam say that if an Israeli ‘receives’ pleasure from the service, then taxes are applicable. However, I insist I did not provide them a service. I was providing camps the service. I had a contract with camps to find them a suitable applicant to meet their specific needs. The camp signed a contract with the applicants. The camp paid the flight ticket and insurance so the applicant could volunteer his time, without pay, at camp. The camp paid me a finders fee for finding the applicants. I did not charge applicants anything. No registration fee. Nothing. The camps decided on who they take after the registration fee. So who received the service and who paid for it. The camp or the applicant? Bottom line is the government or maam want 400,000nis back taxes to 2006. Means I had no way of collecting such fees (if I had known I was liable to pay them I may have tried). But I would have been out of business if I was 17-18% more expensive than my competitors anyway so whichever way you look at it, I was on a loser. Early 2010, the burden of this supposed ‘debt’, effectively killed off any motivation to carry on contributing. I decided on closing down. 2010 was my last season. I ceased the recruitment program, enabled the 30 new recruits to continue to the USA. I didn’t want to let them down so I carried on for another 6 months of unemployed work in order to not let them down. Gave away the childrens program to one of my competitors and retired to my home. The system closed me down and at 64, even the government labor office don’t need me to report every week as they insist others do. They said once a month is enough. Obviously that inspires a lot of hope. So, obviously I’m unemployable even by their standards. So, at 64, I find I’m unemployable, running out of funds and still having to face a judge in court. I’ve already spent a lot on legal fees and now the ‘praclitoot’ want a bond of 20,000nis to secure their payment if the company loses in court. So I’m paying my defense lawyer AND the fees of those suing me. That’s the system for you. Of course we will lose in court. Obviously the judge will favor the government over me/my lawyer otherwise, my case would become a ‘takdim’ and that would cost the government a lot of lost revenue. Not only do I expect to lose in court but I can then look forward to ‘maam’ coming after me personally. So much for limited company status. Even that’s a farce when it comes to ‘maam’. But there is a silver lining. They, maam, wont get anything out of me. I don’t have my own house. I don’t own a car. I owe the bank. I have no income of any kind and, in short, I’m destitute. I feel VERY bitter and totally disillusioned. Having given so many years of my life in trying to make a difference, I find I’m almost out on the street at 64, unemployable, not entitled to benefits of any kind, being asked to pay for national insurance which refuses me any aid and, I feel ‘used’. Spent. Useless. And a fool! Is this why I gave 25 years of my life? To be in this situation? That’s the ‘system’ I’m talking about. Well done to you guys at ‘maam’. You’ve done a good job. You put me out of business, cut short independent hasbara that was badly needed and for what? In the name of the law? The law that nobody understands and everybody interprets differently? No doubt the judge will back you up. And all you will have achieved will be is having en unemployable 64 year old out on the street with no way of supporting himself and certainly no way for you guys to collect. That’s achievement!!
Posted on: Thu, 11 Jul 2013 02:34:12 +0000
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