June tax revenue reaches MVR 2.9 billion, exceeds forecast

The Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) collected MVR 2.9 billion in revenue in June, according to the authority's latest monthly revenue statistics.

MIRA said revenue collected during the month exceeded its initial forecast by 14%. The total also included USD 118.6 million collected in foreign currency.

The authority attributed the higher-than-projected revenue to increased collections from Goods and Services Tax (GST), Bank Income Tax, Green Tax, airport-related taxes and other fees.

MIRA also said tourist arrivals during June were higher than projected, contributing to the increase in revenue.

According to the authority, revenue also benefited from the collection of previously outstanding fees and continued enforcement efforts to recover unpaid dues.

Compared with June last year, total revenue increased by 10%.

MIRA said the year-on-year increase was driven by higher collections from Bank Income Tax, GST, Corporate Income Tax and Tourism Goods and Services Tax (TGST).

It added that Bank Income Tax collections rose because advance payments were made before the payment deadline.

Tourism Goods and Services Tax was the largest source of revenue during June, contributing MVR 1 billion, or 37.2% of total collections.

The other main sources of revenue were: