MK Dov Henin (Hadash) criticized the Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s economic and social policy on Tuesday over reports that the government will make up for increased spending by increasing the VAT.

“Instead of cutting where necessary, they’re cutting from welfare, housing, health and education,” he charged. “Instead of focusing on taxing the rich, they are increasing the VAT, which hurts the weaker sectors of society too, widening the gap. “Netanyahu has proved again that he didn’t learn anything from the social protest,” MK Khenin concluded.

Value-added tax is set to rise by 1 percent or more following a decision Tuesday by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz to bring the proposal to the cabinet on Monday. Each 1% hike in VAT (which currently stands at 16%) is expected to enrich the government coffers by NIS 4 billion per year. The cabinet will also be asked to make an across-the-board cut for government ministries totaling NIS 700 million. Government sources in Jerusalem on Tuesday told Globes that the rise in VAT is only a “first step determined by Netanyahu as part of a comprehensive plan to raise taxes.”

Netanyahu defended the VAT increase on his Facebook page, saying, “the economic turmoil around us is not decreasing, but becoming stronger in the world. Last year all the leading states had their credit rating downgraded, the US and the leading countries in Europe. It didn’t happen to us because we able economic behavior.” “There are no free meals,” he added.