Tel Aviv, Jun. 6, (dpa/GNA) – Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid told a Jerusalem court on Monday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had spoken to him twice around 10 years ago concerning tax legislation, terming it “a good law,” according to media reports.
Lapid, giving evidence during Netanyahu’s trial on charges of corruption, said that he had found this unusual. He was finance minister at the time in 2013.
According to the prosecution, an extension of the law would have benefited the billionaire Arnon Milchan by providing a large tax break.
The prosecution accuses Netanyahu of pressuring Lapid to extend the law, alleging that Netanyahu and his wife had received expensive gifts from Milchan in return.
The trial has been running for more than three years.
The law would have granted tax immunity to Israelis returning to Israel after spending time abroad. It would have been extended by a further 10 years.
Netanyahu is also accused of helping Milchan to gain a visa to enter the United States. He has rejected all the charges against him and termed the trial a “witch hunt.”
Lapid testified that Milchan’s lawyers had approached him before the conversations with Netanyahu with a request to look into extending the law. He had refused, he said.
Lapid’s testimony is scheduled to last three days. Milchan is also expected to give evidence in the weeks ahead, addressing the court via video link from London, according to media reports.
GNA