Amendment 168 of the Israeli Tax Ordinance (New Version). 1961 from September 2008 significantly expanded the tax benefits provided to First Time Residents and Veteran Returning Residents, who arrives to Israel after January 1, 2007.

A First Time Resident is defined in the Ordinance as an individual who became an Israel resident for the first time, i.e. he or she transfers their central of life to Israel for the time of their life.

The Veteran Returning Resident is defined in the Ordinance as an individual who became an Israeli tax resident after 10 years of being a Foreign Resident for tax purposes.

The Ordinance does not define the exact date (the Arrival Date) in which an individual becomes a first time resident or Veteran Returning Resident for tax purposes. Notably, the interpretation of the Israeli Tax Authority (the “ITA”) as reflected in the Circular 1/2011 of the ITA, considers this date as the earlier between the date whereby the individual has a fixed abode in Israel, or the date whereby the individual receives a Returning Resident or a New Resident (Oleh Hadash) status from the Ministry of “Aliya” and Integration.