Income Tax Bill – No 22 of 2015

The Income Tax Bill is now in circulation, intended to repeal Fiji’s 41-year old Income Tax Act. It is understood that it will be debated in the November 2015 Parliamentary session with a view to it taking effect on 1 January 2016. That is less than four months away for those persons with year-ends which follow the calendar (for those with other year-ends, the consequences seem less clear).

A copy of the Bill is attached.

On 5 September (in a quarter-page newspaper advertisement, attached), Parliament requested submissions on the Bill to be made to the Standing Committee on Justice, Law and Human Rights, not later than 25 September 2015.

It is a major challenge to introduce wide-ranging changes to income taxation in a few months. The question is whether taxpayers and tax advisers will be ready – to say nothing of the tax collectors.

Further alerts on the Bill will follow.

Please contact any of RICHARD NAIDU or RAJNIL KRISHNA for further information.

Disclaimer

The information and opinions in this Legal Alert are for general information purposes only. They are not intended as specific legal or other professional advice and should not be relied upon or treated as a substitute for specific advice. Munro Leys can accept no responsibility for any loss arising from reliance on the general information contained in this Legal Alert.