Insights & News

The Ministry of Finance intends to extend purchase tax for investors, currently set at 8%, as part of the Arrangements Law for 2025, which has led to strong opposition from contractors. Adv. Maya Carmi from our firm was interviewed by Yedioth Ahronoth and stated that the purpose of freezing the tax rate is to disincentivize investors from purchasing apartments, thereby increasing the supply of available apartments and reducing prices, which would allow young couples and people from lower socio-economic backgrounds to buy homes.

Globes' "Three Rulings a Week" section selected the Supreme Court's decision to annul a tender for public transportation services in the Golan, due to a conflict of interest involving a lawyer who advised the tender committee while also providing legal counsel to the winning bidder. Adv. Eran Winner, who represented Superbus, which was declared "second qualified" in the Supreme Court appeal, stated, "We are pleased the Supreme Court emphasized the importance of maintaining the integrity of the tender process. However, we regret that it did not establish as a precedent that the entire tender should be annulled; rather, only the winning bid was disqualified, and our company was declared the winners of the tender as 'second qualified.'"

The Real Estate Center interviewed leading legal experts in the real estate field, including Adv. Terry Almozlino Arnon, head of our firm's Real Estate Department, on the most significant rulings of the year in planning, construction, and urban renewal. Terry highlighted a Supreme Court ruling focused on contracts made with apparent intentions and the Supreme Court’s zero-tolerance stance toward such conduct.

Adv. Hanna Daher, a partner in our firm’s Tax Department, describes in an op-ed for N12 the precedent set by the court's ruling in the Coca-Cola case. Hanna notes this decision could prompt Israeli companies to reassess their agreements and contractual arrangements with foreign entities.

Eyal Nachshon, an expert in class actions, was interviewed by Globes following the recent rise in motions to certify class action, mainly due to the escalation in Israel's security situation. Among other things, Eyal noted, "Nowadays, people tend to rush to file lawsuits in order to be first in line, but it’s important to stop and consider whether this is the right legal tool for their specific case."

Our firm hosted a webinar in collaboration with GCs for GCs, focusing on the Payment Services Law. The webinar was designed for legal advisors in companies within the financial and service sectors. Presenting at the event were two of the firm's partners, along with CPA Julie Raboy, who delivered a lecture on the technological adjustments required in light of the law.

The minimum purchase tax for real estate investors is expected to decrease automatically by the end of the year unless the government decides otherwise. Adv. Terry Almozlino Arnon was interviewed by Globes and noted that "this is not a market that can wait for January. In the last two years, we have experienced as effects in the real estate market the increase in interest rates, the legal reform, the Swords of Iron War, and the general uncertainty that has prevailed here."

As an expert in the field of artificial intelligence, Dr. Avishay Klein referred to the need for public companies to formulate an AI policy. As per his advice, companies with a clear policy, transparent reporting, human supervision, and proper management can retrieve the most out of these technologies, increase the trust of investors and customers, and reduce risk.

We are proud to represent daily.dev, recently selected as one of the 21 most promising startups of 2024 by N12 in collaboration with the IVC.

Advs. Yuval Lazi and Nofar Rose David represented Qualtero, a company specializing in IT and consulting services, in its acquisition by Comply365 for over USD 30 million.

In an op-ed for Calcalist, Shir Rozenzweig addresses the rights of suspects and the lack of oversight of investigative authorities concerning searches made on computer devices.

Advs. Zohar Lande, Adi Shoham, Shay Bello, and Anna Elenport are representing Aviv Group in an administrative petition against the Herzliya Municipality. The petition was filed after the municipality undertook to approve a development plan for land within a year, a condition precedent to the transfer of the land to Aviv. The municipality, however, has yet to review the plan. Aviv Group is currently bearing the financial cost, even as construction is not expected to start any time soon.

Adv. Maya Carmi Lubartovski, head of our firm’s real estate taxation practice, participated in another episode of the ACC podcast series. The new episode covers the tax aspects of cash transactions, combination transactions, construction services transactions, the tax advantages and disadvantages of different transaction structures, and more.

As an expert in the field of real estate taxation, our firm's Adv. Maya Carmi was a guest on the ACC podcast series, providing clarity on all aspects of real estate taxation. The first two podcasts, uploaded yesterday, focus on capital gains tax and purchase tax.

Advs. Ariella Dreyfuss and Rahaf Awawdi represented TipRanks in a transaction whereby Prytek acquired an additional 40% stake in TipTanks, becoming its controlling shareholder. In 2021, TipRanks raised USD 77 million, partially through a secondary offering led by Prytek. This transaction was also handled by the firm, with Adv. Hanna Daher assisting in all tax aspects.

Eyal Nachshon, Zohar Haim Levinger and Anna Elenport represented Bank Hapoalim in a class action lawsuit filed by the Association of Representatives of Society and the Environment. In the application for the class action, it is claimed that the bank charges excessive exchange fees when converting monies in foreign currency. The court rejected the application out of hand and stated that the submission of the application constitutes conduct in bad faith and misuse of a legal process.

As part of our cooperation with BDO Academy, we were invited to lecture on topics such as the role of the corporate secretariat, its importance to the organization, getting to know board directors, case law analysis, and corporate governance.

Our firm is the legal partner of the Tel Aviv University Entrepreneurship Center, providing support for various programs, including the "Entrepreneurs on Campus" program, which is designed for female students pursuing a second degree or higher for purposes of developing a startup. Yesterday, the program's pitch night took place, in which the entrepreneurs presented their ventures. Adv. Inbar Katzir, who supports early-stage startups, served as a judge at the event's finale

Our firm represented Trivago, a leading global hotel search platform, in its strategic investment and call option to acquire Holisto, an Israeli AI-driven travel tech platform that serves as a hotel rate aggregator and white-label booking engine provider. Ariella Dreyfuss and Dean Weinberg represented Trivago.