The National Council of Women Fiji have proposed that Maternity Leave for first time mothers be tax exempt and that the income tax threshold should be increased from 16 thousand to 18 thousand dollars.

NCWF Board Director Lorraine Foster while commending the Income Tax Bill suggested that there are certain gender specific areas that could be introduced.

“NCWF is suggesting that Maternity Leave Employment Income be tax exempt for 1st time Mothers, this extra income will certainly assist the first time Mother during maternity leave and give them a fair idea on costs of having a baby.”

This was part of their submission on the Income Tax Bill before the Parliamentary Standing committee on Justice, Law and Human Rights.

Committee Chair Ashneel Sudhakar noted that while these are good suggestions, there needs to be more analysis on how this will affect government revenue.