The poverty rate is defined as the share of the population whose equivalised household disposable income is below 50% of the median income. The statistical data for Israel are supplied by and under the responsibility of the relevant Israeli authorities. Consumption taxes tend to be regressive because lower-income households consume a larger share of their income. To mitigate this regressive impact, many OECD countries apply reduced rates and exemptions for goods and services that account for a large share of poorer households’ consumption basket. The evidence, however, suggests that such tax reliefs benefit high-income groups most and may thus not be an effective redistributive tool (Dalsgaard, 2000, OECD, 2010a). The regressive nature of recurrent taxes on immovable property may partly fade in a lifetime perspective.