Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's financial relief plan announced last week may undergo significant changes, one of them being that it won't be universal, local news outlets reported Sunday night.
While the government has already approved the sum cost of the economic stimulus plan, NIS 6 billion ($1.75 billion), it hasn't yet decided how to distribute the funds.
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The Israeli premier will reconvene Monday with Alternate Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Finance Minister Israel Katz and Economy Minister Amir Peretz to discuss details of the stimulus.
"The most important emphasis in the program will be on speed, both in mechanism and decisions," Netanyahu said.
"Therefore the discussion must be finished in the next 24 hours and not later than that, so we can implement this thing as quickly as possible," he added.
One proposal is to distribute one small payment to all citizens and provide families with low income double the sum. Another option is to distribute payments equally while imposing income tax according to the amount of taxes paid by the individual – meaning, the more taxes a citizen pays, the less payment he will receive.
According to some reports, bachelors will receive less of a stipend than families affected by the pandemic, although Katz on Sunday said on Twitter that he was opposed to such an allotment.
Netanyahu and Katz favor the outline presented by the prime minister last Wednesday to distribute hundreds of dollars in grants to every Israeli in order to stimulate the country's sagging economy.
Under Netanyahu's plan, individuals and households without children will receive one-time payments of just over $200, while families will receive roughly $600 to $900 depending on how many children they have. He said he hoped the money would reach people in a matter of days.
Gantz's Blue and White party favors a plan that gives less to people without families and more to those in need.
The final decision on the matter is due Monday morning.
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