State revenue sees sharp rise while development projects stall
19 ޖުލައި 2025 | ހޮނިހިރު 13:20The government's tax revenue, particularly from GST and tourism-related taxes, has increased compared to the previous year
Maldivian currency notes and coins
As of July 10, the state has collected MVR 15.35 billion in tax revenue, which is an increase from the MVR 14.53 billion recorded during the same period in 2024.
By the end of the second week of July, including grants, the total revenue received by the government was MVR 20.1 billion, of which 76 percent was tax revenue.
The largest revenue was generated from the Goods and Services Tax (GST), import duties, and business and property taxes.
Revenue from GST reached MVR 8.77 billion. This is higher than the MVR 7.97 billion received during the same period last year. Of this, MVR 6.16 billion was received as tourism GST. This is an increase compared to the MVR 5.48 billion received last year. General GST revenue also increased to MVR 2.61 billion.
Import duties generated MVR 1.53 billion, which is lower than the MVR 1.71 billion received last year. year. It's noted that import duty revenue is declining, and since January of this year, under the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed with China, many goods imported from China are not subject to any duty in the Maldives.
Business and property tax revenue was MVR 2.80 billion, which is lower than the MVR 3.58 billion received during the same period last year.
Within this category, MVR 1.61 billion was received as corporate income tax, while MVR 636.3 million was received as withholding tax. This is similar to the previous year's amount. Income tax revenue increased to MVR 260.3 million. Last year, during this period, MVR 221.3 million was received as income tax.
Green tax revenue nearly doubled from MVR 578.6 million in 2024 to MVR 1.14 billion. Revenue from airport service charge and departure tax also increased from MVR 601.3 million last year to MVR 928.5 million.
Royalty revenue was MVR 179.4 million. This is approximately double the MVR 99.6 million received last year.
While revenue from GST and tourism-related taxes has increased, revenue from business-related taxes and import duties has decreased.
The government has projected MVR 29.22 billion in tax revenue for 2025. With half of the year passed, the revenue received so far is 52.5 percent of the target.
While government revenue is increasing, on the other hand, the Finance Ministry's figures show that spending on the country's development has slowed down.
According to the statistics released by the Ministry of Finance and Planning, compared to the same period last year, the Maldivian government's capital expenditure has significantly decreased as of 10 July 2025. Major infrastructure projects are included in capital expenditures.
The latest weekly financial report from the Ministry of Finance and Planning shows that while MVR 5.83 billion was spent on capital expenditure by the end of July 2024, only MVR 2.14 billion has been spent so far this year. This represents a year-on-year decrease of approximately 63 percent.
