October sees revenue plunge; a 14.2 percent drop

At a time Maldives is sinking deeper into an economic crisis, the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) has reported that October 2024 saw a 14.2 percent drop in the state revenue, with total collections falling to MVR 1.73 billion, which is a decline in comparison to the same period last year.

However, MIRA stated that the revenue recorded in October was 30.5 percent higher than projected initially.

This was due to the higher-than-expected collection of Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Further, MIRA stated that there was an increase in land acquisition and transfer fees, Green Tax, and Airport Tax.

Measures taken to recover unpaid GST also played an important role in increasing revenue.

In addition to this, the number of tourists visiting the Maldives in September increased by 2.1 percent which had a positive impact on tourism-related taxes in October.

Revenue from land acquisition and transfer fees linked to government island leases also exceeded projections.

Statistics by MIRA go on to indicate that GST contributes the largest share of government revenue, accounting for 63.1 percent of total revenue.

The next largest sources were income tax and land acquisition and transfer fees. Income tax contributed 6.7 percent of revenue, while land acquisition and transfer fees accounted for 5.5 percent.

Tourist Goods and Services Tax (TGST) contributed 61.3 percent of total dollar revenue.