(f) On January 19, 2011, an objection was submitted to the tax assessor, following which discussions began to take place in "Stage B", which Yerushalmi discussed in his testimony: "... Subsequently, on January 19, 2011, an objection was filed. The discussions began in the second stage. 2011 was a very, very intensive year in which there were a lot of assessment procedures, a lot of discussions, correspondence and an exchange of letters. In fact, somewhere in early September 2011 there was a summary discussion along with a legal decision (Legal Department - B.S.) The Department of International Taxation and representatives on behalf of the appellant in the case (The defendant - B.S.; prov. p. 743, s. 21).
(g) After the aforementioned meeting, which took place in September 2011, a few additional hearings were held, and on December 21, 2011, an assessment order was issued for 2005, which means rejecting the defendant's claims that his center of life is not in Israel. At the same time, the tax assessor continued to handle the issuance of assessments for the years 2006 and 2007 (assessments issued on August 28, 2013).
(8) On January 4, 2012, the defendant filed a motion to extend the deadline for appealing the tax assessor's decision, and on December 24, 2012, the tax appeal was filed, in which it was claimed that the defendant was not an Israeli resident, and therefore he was not obligated to pay tax. It should be emphasized that the only issue at the heart of the appeal was the issue of the defendant's residency, since it was clear that this was an issue that required a preliminary decision, even before the disputes regarding the amount of the assessment were clarified.
(9) On October 24, 2013, and as part of the tax appeal proceedings, Ben-Eliezer signed an affidavit, in which he testified that he knew the defendant in the course of his position as Minister of Infrastructures, and that he was on friendly terms with him, and that to the best of his knowledge and acquaintance with the defendant, the latter's center of life was not in Israel (P/118, hereinafter – The Affidavit). The affidavit was verified by one of the defendant's attorneys in the same proceeding, Attorney Michal Solomonovich (hereinafter – Adv. Solomonovich), and did not include any reference to the NIS 1.5 million that Ben-Eliezer received from the defendant on September 26, 2011.