MIRA recovers MVR 9.81 million in unpaid taxes through bank account freezes

The Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) has recovered MVR 9.81 million in unpaid taxes through the freezing of bank accounts, according to its latest revenue statistics.

Figures published by MIRA last week in its October revenue report show that the authority has recovered approximately MVR 448 million in outstanding taxes so far this year.

MIRA uses several methods to recover unpaid taxes, with payment notices accounting for the largest share of recoveries.

According to the statistics, MVR 171 million was recovered through payment notices issued to taxpayers, while MVR 161.22 million was collected through voluntary settlement of outstanding dues.

A further MVR 97.74 million was recovered through instalment payment arrangements offered to taxpayers.

Bank account freezes resulted in the recovery of MVR 9.81 million, while MVR 8.10 million was collected through telephone calls and email communications.

The reported recoveries include:

MIRA has previously disclosed that outstanding taxes and other payments owed to the authority have reached MVR 22 billion.

One factor contributing to the accumulation of unpaid taxes is the government's delay in settling payments owed to private businesses.

These delays have affected the ability of some businesses to meet their tax obligations, as they face difficulties in paying MIRA while awaiting payments from the government.

The government currently owes approximately MVR 7 billion to various parties, with a substantial proportion of the outstanding payments owed to private companies.