Tax authorities in Israel

[Stan Goodman]

On Thursday 26 May 2011 at 19:01:40 (GMT+2) "Uri Even-Chen" 
<uri at speedy.net> wrote:

> Hi people,
> 
> I recently had to pay taxes to the tax authorities in Israel (income
> tax). I think it's amazing that the tax authorities website supports
> only MSIE. I called their support and asked, they said they don't
> support Google Chrome or Firefox - only MSIE. I'm using Google
> Chrome and Firefox with all other websites, including my bank, but
> only with the tax authorities website I have to use MSIE. I have a
> bug/virus in MSIE and it took me more than an hour and I tried at
> least 6 times with 2 computers and 3 people on their support until I
> could pay my taxes. Shame on them! Maybe the Israeli Internet
> association should do something about it (revoke their .gov
> domain!)...

Why amazing? Israel is probably the most MS addicted country on the 
planet. Nowhere else do people look at you as at a lunatic when they 
learn that you are using something "exotic" (OS/2 or Linux). Once, years 
ago, I was told in a Bezeq business office that I was speaking out of 
ignorance, because _every_ computer has Windows. In contrast, last month 
in Kiev, the driver who brought me into town from the airport glanced at 
the screen of my laptop (which does not say "Linux"), and said to me, 
"Oh, you're using Linux".

There has already been a lot of talk here about efforts to get 
governmental agencies and quasi-governmental ones to loosen up and stop 
acting as though they are a subsideary of Microsoft.

I've said before that the right address for improving this state of 
afairs is the State Comptroller. That is still true.

-- 
Stan Goodman
Qiryat Tiv'on
Israel