Client updates

The District Court in Israel recently ruled that it has jurisdiction to adjudicate a class action filed against OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT.

In February 2025, the Israeli Tax Authority published an Income Tax Circular outlining the conditions and principles of the new Angels Law, focusing on the tax benefits granted to investors in early-stage companies that qualify as R&D companies.

Recently, a US District Court in Illinois has granted final approval to a settlement in the Clearview AI consumer privacy litigation, concerning the company’s controversial practices of collecting and storing biometric facial recognition data. This should serve as a reminder that US state privacy laws are as relevant as ever and that their violation may lead to significant penalties.

The Families of Fallen Soldiers Law was amended recently, which prohibits employers in Israel from dismissing any employee who is a member of a fallen soldier’s family (“bereaved employee”), from docking his/her wages, from reducing his/her appointment percentage and from sending him/her home on unpaid leave during the year of mourning.

As of 2025, an additional 2% surtax will be imposed specifically on taxable capital income (income from dividends, interest, capital gains from real estate sales and other capital sources) exceeding the maximum of ILS 721,560. This means that taxable capital income exceeding the maximum will now be subject to an inclusive surtax of 5%.

On March 9, 2025, the Real Estate Brokers Regulations (Ethics and Professional Duties) of 2024 came into effect which, for the first time, impose rules of ethics and binding professional obligations on all real estate brokers in Israel and regulate key aspects of real estate brokers’ work.

Last week, the Bank of Israel published a preliminary design of the central bank’s Digital Shekel system. In a detailed document, holding more than 100 pages, the Bank of Israel presents guiding principles and a work plan for further advancing this ambitious project.

At the end of 2024, the Knesset enacted significant legislative updates within the framework of the Arrangements Law that completely revamp how “closely held companies” are taxed in Israel.

A US court (in Delaware) recently handed down a precedent-setting ruling on a lawsuit filed by a copyright-owner, the media and technology conglomerate, Thomson Reuters, against the artificial intelligence platform, Ross Intelligence. The Delaware court ruled that the defendant had infringed the plaintiff’s copyrights, and that the defendant is not entitled to any of the statutory protections, including reliance on the “fair use” doctrine as a defense.

This past weekend, a precedent-setting ruling was issued in the case of Bizi Finance Ltd., in which the court was required to determine whether a promissory note signed electronically could be enforced through the enforcement and collection offices.

The Israeli Privacy Protection Authority has issued a new statement introducing a significant change in the interpretation of the law and in the required methods for obtaining consent to the collection and processing of personal data. While the dry wording of the law enabled reliance on tacit or tacit consent, the PPA now clarifies that explicit, informed and free consent must be prioritized.

The Ministry of the Economy’s wide-scale enforcement campaign launched last weekend in branches of supermarket chains throughout the country, found violations of the obligation to mark prices in all of the branches that were inspected.

A new draft bill for second and third readings aims to ease tax relief conditions in corporate restructuring. Initially part of the 2025 Arrangements Law to support high-tech, it was later split from the original bill.
A new draft bill for second and third readings aims to ease tax relief conditions in corporate restructuring. Initially part of the 2025 Arrangements Law to support high-tech, it was later split from the original bill.

The Israel Tax Authority (ITA) recently published updated guidelines, regarding tax aspects applying to investments in companies through SAFEs. Such guidelines were published following the previous guidelines published by the ITA during May 2023, and which expired at the end of 2024.

The Israeli Competition Authority has filed a precedent-setting indictment against supermarket chains, including Victory and Yochananof, and against officers of the chains, for attempting to coordinate prices through statements in the media and for violations of the Food Law.

For years, the crypto industry has faced regulatory uncertainty, with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) relying on “regulation by enforcement” rather than establishing specific rules for digital assets. Coinbase, one of the world’s largest crypto platforms, sought regulatory clarity—but found itself facing resistance from the SEC.

The Israel Tax Authority (ITA) recently published an addendum to the 1987 circular with the goal of minimizing disputes with sellers of residential apartments.

Important updates relating to the Financial Information Service Law have been published in recent days.

The new year is already heralding significant tax innovations in Israel in general, and in real estate taxation in particular. Following are highlights of the legislative amendments that were approved by January 2025.

As part of proceedings brought by activist shareholders of Nano Dimension, the District Court ruled that ADS (American Depository Share) holders should be treated as shareholders of the company. The significance of this ruling in Israel: boards of directors will be precluded from relying on ADSs to try and block activist shareholders’ campaigns.