Woman wins fight for income tax exemption on maternity pay, but law remains unclear
Monday, November 21, 2016 @ 9:47 PM
WOMEN on maternity leave should not be paying income tax on their benefit, says the High Court of Justice in Madrid – and the Treasury has been ordered to refund over €1.3 million.
This landmark verdict has come as a result of a woman who successfully sued the fiscal authorities for €3,135 she had paid in income tax, or IRPF, whilst on maternity leave, during which period she earnt a net €11,679.
This case is not new – three years ago, messages going viral online urged new mums to demand a tax refund as they should be exempt from IRPF, but the fiscal authorities issued a statement saying it was not true that women on maternity leave did not have to pay.
But some taxpayers did not think the explanation from the Treasury was sufficient and took their cases to the courts.
Until now, judges had always issued verdicts in favour of the tax office, but a woman from Madrid named Casilda – her surname has not been revealed – appealed to a higher court when she was not satisfied with the decision.
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