No. 07-00-299/2015-02 Date: 30 September, 2015

OPINION

The opinion was issued in the procedure following complaint from D.P.P. against the Ministry of Finance, Tax Administration, Palilula Branch. The complainant was on maternity leave, and in May 2014 the employer paid her out delayed amount of 133,423.22 dinars for salary compensation, due to which the Tax Administration obliged her to pay “solidarity tax” according to the Law on the net income tax deduction for public sector entities. Declaration regarding the complaint states that the employer paid D.P.P. three delayed salaries for compensation of maternity leave in May 2014, and did not calculate the net income tax deduction, which is why the Tax Administration, Palilula Branch established the obligation to pay the difference for payment of net income. During the procedure, it was established that D. P. P, due to maternity leave and absence from work for child care, several delayed salaries were paid out at once in the same month, due to which her monthly single income, which would otherwise not be “solidarity taxed”, after adding the amounts of several salary compensations exceeded the non-taxable amount of 60,000.00 dinars, and the Tax Administration, Palilula Branch established the obligation to pay the difference for payment of net income. The Commissioner is of the opinion that D. P. P. and all other pregnant women and women that have given birth who are paid out delayed salaries for maternity leave and/or absence from work for child care, are indirectly discriminated against by application of the legal rule on the establishment of “solidarity tax”, which in practice produces extremely negative consequences for them, on account of which they are “punished” because of the absence from work due to childbirth and child care. For this reason the Commissioner has expressed the opinion that the Tax Administration, Palilula Branch, by imposing the obligation for D.P.P. to pay the difference for payment of net income, violated the provisions of the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination. In addition to the opinion, it was also recommended that the Tax Administration, Palilula Branch, should eliminate the consequences of discriminatory treatment and, in the course of carrying out activities within its competence, should not violate the provisions of the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination.