State revenue rises by 9% to MVR 26.5 billion

The state has seen a nine percent increase in revenue and grants this year, driven primarily by an increase in tax revenue, according to the latest weekly fiscal report released by the Finance Ministry.

The report, released on Wednesday, shows the Maldives secured MVR 26.5 billion in revenue and grants as of August 6.

This marks a 9.3 percent increase compared to the MVR 24.2 billion in revenue and grants during the same period last year.

The surge was mostly driven by an increase in tax revenue.

The state collected MVR 20.5 billion in tax revenue as of August 6, marking a 10.1 percent increase compared to the MVR 18.7 billion collected during the same period last year.

As such, earnings from Corporate Income Tax rose by 1.4 percent from MVR 2.6 billion to MVR 2.7, while Business Profit Tax rose by 18.5 percent from MVR 4.5 billion to MVR 5.3 billion.

Goods and Services Tax (GST) rose by 6.1 percent from MVR 9.9 billion to MVR 10.5 billion. This includes MVR 7.1 billion in Tourist Goods and Services Tax (TGST) and MVR 3.4 billion in General Goods and Services Tax (GGST). The GGST shows a 10.4 percent increase while the TGST shows a 9.7 percent increase.

Looking at other sources of tax revenue, earnings from Import Duty rose by 13.2 percent from MVR 1.8 billion to MVR 2 billion, while Non-Resident Withholding Tax rose by 15.8 percent to MVR 885 million, and Green Tax rose by 4 percent to MVR 1.3 billion.

The state also collected MVR 1.2 billion in Airport Service Charges/Departure Tax.

Meanwhile, the non-tax revenue increased by 2.6 percent from MVR 5.3 billion during the same period last year to MVR 5.5 billion this year. This includes MVR 1.7 billion in Property Income and MVR 483 million in SOE Dividends.

The state also secured MVR 454.8 million grants – more than double the MVR 221.2 million collected during the same period last year.