The painful reality in Israel: A Vegetable Salad in a Restaurant Will Cost You About NIS 65, Double the Price Abroad
19.11.2018
Restaurateur Oren Luxenberg decided to answer the question "Why does a vegetable salad in an Israeli restaurant cost NIS 65?” going into the nitty-gritty details.
1. Payment of 17% VAT in the total price = NIS 9.44.
2. The cost of the salad's raw materials = NIS 10.70.
The cost is based on the following details:
3. Salaries for the cooks, the bread baker, the hosts, the managers, the dishwashers. The average cost of salaries in a successful restaurant is 35% for the workers, a total of NIS 22.75.
4. Rent: 6% = NIS 3.9.
5. Municipality and government taxes - municipal taxes, security tax, signage tax, permits for chairs and tables, permit for partitions (in other words, closing a section off for the winter) night permit to work after 23:00, 3.15% corporate tax = NIS 2.04.
6. Electricity - 3.5% = NIS 2.27.
7. Water - 1% = NIS 0.61.
8. Gas - 1% = NIS 0.61.
9. Cleaning and other materials 0.9% - soaps, grease removers, packaging materials, napkins, straws, baking papers and surprise knickknacks, printed papers, pens and notebooks for waiters = NIS 0.58.
10. Telephone, internet, pest control, security, laundry, music system management, fees to Society of Authors, Composers and Music Publishers in Israel (now split into 2 companies, Eshkolot and Elam), cash registers, cliental club management, debt clearing control, flowers and decoration committee - 2.3% = NIS 1.49.
The total cost of our salad now stands at NIS 54.47 including operating expenses.
11. Repairs, updating equipment, dishwasher, ice machine, oven, leak in the boiler, broken loudspeaker, broken dishes and glasses, cutlery accidentally thrown in the garbage, flower pots on the porch, a tile that fell in the kitchen, a refrigerator that blew the fuse, burned out light bulbs, air conditioner that stopped working, depreciation - 2.5% = NIS 1.62.
12. Lawyer, accountant, bookkeeper, accessibility consultants, and sanitation, fire extinguishing, and preservation consultants - 1.15% = NIS 0.74.
13. Public relations office, newspaper ads, Facebook page promotions, Instagram, Google - 1.5% = NIS 0.97.
14. Bank fees, interest on loans, credit card clearing fees - 2.5% = NIS 1.62.
All the above shows that the restaurant owner spends NIS 60.07 to produce each vegetable salad. The remaining profit for the restaurant owner is NIS 4.93.
15. Of this amount, income tax collects its share of 30% from the restaurant owner = NIS 1.48.
16. In addition, at the end of the year, corporate tax is collected - 23% = NIS 1.13.
In total, the restaurant owners have a net profit of NIS 2.32, which is less than 4%.
In light of the findings, the chairman of "Israeli Shortcut" asks why the State of Israel, which is so advanced in many fields, can’t come up with a simple financial system that doesn’t gauge deep into the consumer's pocket or pounce on on his portion of food. The time has come to copy the systems of countries that manage to bring their citizens a bowl of salad at a sane cost.
Back to list
1. Payment of 17% VAT in the total price = NIS 9.44.
2. The cost of the salad's raw materials = NIS 10.70.
The cost is based on the following details:
| • Baby cucumber, amount cost - NIS 16 per kilo - the amount in the salad, 90 grams = 1.44 shekels • Radish, cost of a bag - NIS 7.8 - the amount in the salad, 25 grams = 0.20 shekels • Colorful cherry tomatoes per kilo - NIS 15 - the amount in the salad, 90 grams = NIS 1.35 • Red onion - NIS 4.5 per kilo - the amount in the salad, 10 grams = NIS 0.05 • Greek Kalamata olives - NIS 25 per kilo - the amount in the salad, 30 grams = NIS 0.75 • Cauliflower - NIS 4.5 per kilo - the amount in the salad, 70 grams = NIS 0.32 • Kilo of herbs - NIS 15 - the amount in the salad, 50 grams = NIS 0.75 • Croutons of bread - NIS 4.5 per square - the amount in the salad, 50 grams = 0.22 shekels • Salty cheese from a small boutique manufacturer - NIS 80 per kilo - the amount in the salad, 50 grams = 4 shekels • Olive oil - NIS 25 per liter - the amount in the salad, 20 grams = NIS 0.50 • Fresh lemon juice - NIS 10 per kilo - the amount in the salad, 10 grams = 0.10 shekels • Raspberry wine vinegar - NIS 10 per liter - the amount in the salad, 5 grams = NIS 0.05 • Unusable waste of the vegetables (ends of radish, pits of olives, stalk of cauliflower, stems of herbs, peel of lemon, etc.) = 10% of the amount of salad = 0.97 shekels |
3. Salaries for the cooks, the bread baker, the hosts, the managers, the dishwashers. The average cost of salaries in a successful restaurant is 35% for the workers, a total of NIS 22.75.
4. Rent: 6% = NIS 3.9.
5. Municipality and government taxes - municipal taxes, security tax, signage tax, permits for chairs and tables, permit for partitions (in other words, closing a section off for the winter) night permit to work after 23:00, 3.15% corporate tax = NIS 2.04.
6. Electricity - 3.5% = NIS 2.27.
7. Water - 1% = NIS 0.61.
8. Gas - 1% = NIS 0.61.
9. Cleaning and other materials 0.9% - soaps, grease removers, packaging materials, napkins, straws, baking papers and surprise knickknacks, printed papers, pens and notebooks for waiters = NIS 0.58.
10. Telephone, internet, pest control, security, laundry, music system management, fees to Society of Authors, Composers and Music Publishers in Israel (now split into 2 companies, Eshkolot and Elam), cash registers, cliental club management, debt clearing control, flowers and decoration committee - 2.3% = NIS 1.49.
The total cost of our salad now stands at NIS 54.47 including operating expenses.
11. Repairs, updating equipment, dishwasher, ice machine, oven, leak in the boiler, broken loudspeaker, broken dishes and glasses, cutlery accidentally thrown in the garbage, flower pots on the porch, a tile that fell in the kitchen, a refrigerator that blew the fuse, burned out light bulbs, air conditioner that stopped working, depreciation - 2.5% = NIS 1.62.
12. Lawyer, accountant, bookkeeper, accessibility consultants, and sanitation, fire extinguishing, and preservation consultants - 1.15% = NIS 0.74.
13. Public relations office, newspaper ads, Facebook page promotions, Instagram, Google - 1.5% = NIS 0.97.
14. Bank fees, interest on loans, credit card clearing fees - 2.5% = NIS 1.62.
All the above shows that the restaurant owner spends NIS 60.07 to produce each vegetable salad. The remaining profit for the restaurant owner is NIS 4.93.
15. Of this amount, income tax collects its share of 30% from the restaurant owner = NIS 1.48.
16. In addition, at the end of the year, corporate tax is collected - 23% = NIS 1.13.
In total, the restaurant owners have a net profit of NIS 2.32, which is less than 4%.
In light of the findings, the chairman of "Israeli Shortcut" asks why the State of Israel, which is so advanced in many fields, can’t come up with a simple financial system that doesn’t gauge deep into the consumer's pocket or pounce on on his portion of food. The time has come to copy the systems of countries that manage to bring their citizens a bowl of salad at a sane cost.
