Revenues of the Palestinian National Authority

- The revenues of the Palestinian National Authority were concentrated, for most of their sources, in taxes at a rate that reached 92% of total net revenues. It is worth noting that the revenues of the Palestinian National Authority usually derive from the following sources:

· First: net taxes, which consist of local tax revenues, clearance revenues, then designated collections, in addition to tax refunds (-).

· Second: non-tax revenues such as fees.. which are local.

· Third: investment returns..

· According to the statistics of the Ministry of Finance and Planning in Ramallah, "Table No. 2 Financial Operations .. details of revenue, expenditure and financing sources (cash basis)", year 2023 up to the month of April, as follows: (average exchange rate of the shekel (ILS) against the dollar - April 2023 3.56 shekel (ILS) per dollar).

- The total net revenues in 2023, up to the month of April, amounted to 5,803 million shekel (ILS) (five billion eight hundred three million shekel (ILS)), which came from the following sources:

- First: tax revenues (net amounting to 5,598 million shekel (ILS)), i.e., 96% of total net revenues for April 2023.

- Net taxes: total tax revenues in 2023, up to the month of April, amounted to 5,598 million shekel (ILS), which came from the following sources:

1- Local tax revenues totaling 1,685 million shekel (ILS).... arising from income tax amounting to 495 million shekel (ILS), value-added tax amounting to 503 million shekel (ILS), customs duties amounting to 443 million shekel (ILS), beverage excise duties amounting to 2 million shekel (ILS), cigarette excise duties amounting to 228 million shekel (ILS), property tax amounting to 15 million shekel (ILS). Also, designated collections in 2023 up to April amounted to 208 million shekel (ILS).

2- Clearance revenues totaling 3,791 million shekel (ILS) (these are collected by the Israeli occupation authorities), which amounted in April 2023 to 3,791 million shekel (ILS), arising from customs duties of 1,673 million shekel (ILS), value-added tax of 990 million shekel (ILS), purchase tax of – 5 million shekel (ILS), petroleum tax of 1,208 million shekel (ILS), income tax of 42 million shekel (ILS), while tax refunds, which reduce the value of clearance revenues, amounted to (-) 87 million shekel (ILS). A collection fee for the Israeli occupying side was also deducted in the amount of (118 million shekel (ILS)) at a rate of 3%.

- Second: non-tax revenues, which totaled 492 million shekel (ILS). These non-tax revenues consist of non-tax local fees, arising from local charges: civil registration taxes amounting to 31 million shekel (ILS), health service fees amounting to 37 million shekel (ILS), health insurance fees amounting to 103 million shekel (ILS), transportation fees 60 million shekel (ILS), local government fees amounting to 2 million shekel (ILS), Ministry of Economy fees amounting to 7 million shekel (ILS), Sharia court fees amounting to 2 million shekel (ILS), Land Authority fees amounting to 68 million shekel (ILS), Ministry of Housing 2 million shekel (ILS), Ministry of Agriculture fees amounting to 2 million shekel (ILS), tourism fees amounting to 1 million shekel (ILS), education fees amounting to 5 million shekel (ILS), Higher Judicial Council fees amounting to 22 million shekel (ILS), and professional license fees amounting to 8 million shekel (ILS).

- Third: investment returns: their total in 2023 up to the month of April amounted to 0.6 million shekel (ILS) (less than one million shekel (ILS)). It is worth noting that investment returns over past years were negligible..!

· It is known that taxes of all kinds are collected from individuals, investors, and the private sector in general...

· To compare the data of April 2023 with April 2022, I present these statistics from the Ministry of Finance and Planning page in Ramallah as follows:

· Total net revenues in 2022 up to the month of April amounted to 6,042 million shekel (ILS); local revenues among them were 2,100 million shekel (ILS), distributed as local tax revenues of 1,367 million shekel (ILS), while local non-tax revenues (fees) amounted to 439 million shekel (ILS). Clearance revenues in the same period (April 2022) amounted to 4,194 million shekel (ILS), where customs revenue from it was 1,750 million shekel (ILS), VAT clearance revenue was 751 million shekel (ILS), while petroleum tax revenue was 940 million shekel (ILS). It is noted that clearance revenue in April 2022 was about 400 million shekel (ILS) more than its counterpart in April 2023.

· To compare the data of April 2023 with April 2021, I present these statistics from the Ministry of Finance and Planning page in Ramallah as follows:

· Total net revenues in 2021 up to the month of April amounted to 4,295 million shekel (ILS); local revenues among them were 1,568 million shekel (ILS), distributed as local tax revenues of 1,095 million shekel (ILS), while local non-tax revenues (fees) amounted to 345 million shekel (ILS). Clearance revenues in the same period (April 2021) amounted to 2,808 million shekel (ILS), where customs revenue from it was 1,424 million shekel (ILS), VAT clearance revenue was 643 million shekel (ILS), while petroleum tax revenue was 801 million shekel (ILS).

· It is worth noting that total external support at the end of 2022 amounted to 1,174 million shekel (ILS), of which 818 million shekel (ILS) was budget support, and 195 million shekel (ILS) were Arab grants, from only two Arab countries, Algeria provided a grant of 179 million shekel (ILS), and Iraq 16 million shekel (ILS).

· Total external support at the end of 2021 amounted to 1,026 million shekel (ILS), of which 601 million shekel (ILS) was budget support, and Arab grants amounted to 315 million shekel (ILS), provided by Algeria only..!

· The deductions from clearance revenues in 2023 up to April, which were deducted by the Israeli side, amounted to 653 million shekel (ILS), where 310 million shekel (ILS) was deducted for electricity, 128 million shekel (ILS) for the water sector, 36 million shekel (ILS) for wastewater water sector, hospitals were deducted 77 million shekel (ILS), courts were deducted 0.2 million shekel (ILS) (less than one million shekel (ILS)), and there were other deductions amounting to 102 million shekel (ILS) (according to the statistics of the Ministry of Finance and Planning in Ramallah).

· The balance of cumulative arrears at the end of 2022 amounted to 11,272 million shekel (ILS), while this balance at the end of 2021 was 9,710 million shekel (ILS).

· As for the public debt, not to mention the accumulated arrears as we mentioned above, the public debt in 2022 amounted to 12,542 million shekel (ILS), of which domestic debt was 7,936 million shekel (ILS). Public debt in 2021 amounted to 11,993 million shekel (ILS), of which 7,880 million shekel (ILS) was domestic debt.