Under the Municipalities Ordinance, municipal property tax (Arnona) is payable even when a property is vacant.
Israeli case law has established that a vacant property should be taxed according to the lowest applicable tax classification among the legally permitted uses of the property. A question that recently came before the courts was whether those permitted uses should be determined based on the property’s building permit or on the applicable zoning plan.
The Israeli Supreme Court recently ruled that the Arnona assessment should be based on the tax rate that would have applied had the property been in active use. Consequently, the applicable tax classification is determined according to the uses authorized under the property’s building permit.
As a zoning plan generally permits a broader range of potential uses than those authorized by the building permit, this ruling may significantly affect the Arnona liability of owners of vacant properties. Property owners should therefore take this change into account when assessing the municipal tax implications of holding vacant real estate.
