Individual tax exemption for women who return to work from 2019

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 26 (Bernama) -- Beginning next year, the government will give individual tax exemptions of up to 12 months to women who return to work, said Human Resources Minister  M. Kula Segaran.

He said this would encourage women to return and the exemption programme would be supervised by Talent Corporation Malaysia Berhad (TalentCorp).

"So if you know a woman, whether your friend or your wife who is thinking of making that return, tell them that they should not wait anymore. We want our women to come back to work, as the country needs them,” he said.

“Women make up half of Malaysia’s population and almost half of the national workforce and if more women join the workforce, the Gross Domestic Product has the potential to increase to between RM6 billion to RM9 billion,” he told reporters after presented the annual ‘Life at Work 2018’ award organised by TalentCorp here today.

He said the government was committed to work and life integration in the country through collaborative efforts between his ministry, the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development and TalentCorp.

The ‘Life at Work’ award is an annual initiative by TalentCorp organised since 2013, to emphasise work and life integration as a strategy for future employment in line with Malaysia’s economic growth.

A total of 86 companies submitted entries this year, compared to only 33 last year.

This year, the Employee Provident Fund emerged overall winner with three awards in the best public sector category, best chief executive officer for the public sector  (Tunku Alizakri Alias) and excellent work practices.

Shell Malaysia was accorded best international organisation while Hong Leong Bank Berhad won the best new organisation award.

-- BERNAMA