Israeli oil and gas partnership NewMed Energy has been handed a $198 million tax bill by the Israel Tax Authority for the years 2019 and 2020. The authority claims NewMed underreported its taxable income by hundreds of millions of dollars, citing discrepancies in how financing and development expenses were recognized. NewMed, the largest partner in the Leviathan natural gas reservoir, disputes the assessment and plans to challenge it through administrative and legal channels. The partnership maintains that the outcome will affect the timing, but not the overall amount, of its tax payments and believes its chances of prevailing are better than even.