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Israel’s Economy Minister, Naftali Bennet, has unveiled his new “Regulation Light” plan to promote more entrepreneurship in Israel.
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Businessmen throughout the world often decry their countries’ regulations and taxation as a handicap to the fostering of new businesses. They feel that regulations leave established firms with a distinct advantage over new ones since the older companies have already learned how to deal with regulation compliance. Also, it can be more difficult for a new company to meet government set standards when it is creating an entirely new product.
Called “Regulation Light, ” a new plan in Israel announced before the country’s 66th Independence Day by its economy minister, Naftali Bennet, will try to make things easier for Israeli entrepreneurs.
In a speech at Tel Aviv University’s Business Academic Club last week, the 42 year old leader of Israel’s Jewish Home Party – a member of its current coalition government – revealed his intention to grant new businesses a five year grace period in which they would not have to adhere to some of the current regulations in their respective industries. This would make it easier for new companies to develop and market their products.
According to Bennet, a former software entrepreneur himself, new companies have twice the rate of job growth as established ones. The Economy Minister also feels that more credit should be granted to new businesses because they are instrumental in the country’s overall economic growth.
But the minister is concerned with Israel’s over emphasis on the development of its high tech sector. Israel, he believes, should also be at the forefront of developing agricultural, energy, water, cyber security and life science advances calling the advancements in these fields “light house products.” Israel is, in his mind, a light house of economic development in the midst of the stormy Middle East. If Israel progresses in these areas, Bennet said, then it will diversify its economy and be able to develop stronger economic relationships with the emerging countries around the world.
Bennet did not dismiss the importance of all the environmental and safety regulations currently on the books, quite the opposite. These were not amongst the ones that will be waved and after the five year grace period ends he promised that all regulations would again be enforced.
Naftali Bennet is the son of American immigrants who grew up in Haifa and once served as Binyamin Netanyahu’s chief of staff. Both he and his Jewish Home Party are Zionist orthodox. Bennet supports the principles of a free economy, meaning fewer regulations, lower taxes and that private enterprise is the corp of a country’s economic growth.
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