Treasury chief Shlomi Heisler to step down

The Director General of the Ministry of Finance, Shlomi Heisler, submitted his resignation to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and will step down in January, after the 2025 state budget was approved by the Knesset Finance Committee. Hessler was in this position for two years. His resignation for personal reasons.

“I have undertaken this important role with trepidation, in one of the most difficult periods that the State of Israel and Israeli society has ever known. After two years, after the end of the intense phase of the war, residents can return to their homes, homes in the north and south, and when the budget is approved, including… That beleaguered profits reform, in the Knesset, for personal reasons, I submitted my resignation to the Minister of Finance. I worked side by side with the Minister and I deeply regret the restrictions that force me to leave my position now, and I am sure that with God’s help our paths will cross again in the future. the future”.

Early last August, Hessler said in a private conversation that the main task before him was to approve the new budget, and that after that he would think about his professional future. He said these things when he was recovering from a medical condition, the government was postponing budget preparation, Israel’s credit rating had been downgraded, and the atmosphere in the Finance Ministry was particularly ambiguous.

The delay at that time led to a situation where the 2025 budget had not yet been approved, days before the end of the year. However, it is on the legislative track in the Knesset, and once its passage through the Knesset Finance Committee is secured, Hessler will step down.

Due to wartime conditions, Hessler found himself responsible for the unprecedented production of the budgets of four states within two years. He led the team that drafted the Treasury Department’s major reform for next year: taxing the profits held by personal services businesses.

Hessler came to the Treasury Department from the real estate sector. He previously served as head of the National Planning Authority in the Ministry of the Interior, and when he arrived at the Ministry of Finance he implemented reforms in this area such as the Arnona Fund (municipal taxes) and the National Infrastructure Law. Hessler also participated in wage agreements with the Histadrut (General Confederation of Labor in Israel) and the teachers’ union.

It is not clear who Smotrich will choose to succeed Hessler. He has a record of procrastinating in appointing people to senior positions in his ministry. The natural candidates are Deputy Director General Yisrael Malachi and Deputy Director General Yoray Matslawi, but some in the ministry believe Smotrich will look elsewhere.

Although Hessler was an appointee of Smotrich, he was not seen in the ministry as a political figure, and tried to stay out of matters such as the budgets of the coalition parties. While Smotrich often clashed with senior officials such as Budget Commissioner Yogev Grados and outgoing Finance Ministry legal advisor Asi Messing, Hessler was considered a conciliatory figure who sought compromise. The criticism directed at him within the ministry was that he was sometimes inclined to concede too much, and did not go to the table to protect the professionals in the ministry from political interference.

Smotrich said: “Shlomi Heisler is a first-class professional who ran the Ministry of Finance during one of the most difficult periods that the State of Israel has ever known.” “Hessler approved five budgets, and skillfully managed the Ministry in all its departments. I thank Shlomi Hessler for his work and efforts for the State of Israel. He is an asset to the state and the public service, and I have no doubt that he will continue to harness his tremendous abilities for the benefit of the State of Israel.”

Published by Globes, Israel Business News – en.globes.co.il – on December 25, 2024.

© Copyright Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2024.