Maldives to hike taxes to boost revenue amid economic woes
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The government has decided to increase the amount of Goods and Services Tax (GST) and import duty on goods and services purchased by the public.
The announcement was made in the government's revenue policy or medium-term revenue strategy (MMTRS) report for the next four years, which was recently approved by the cabinet and released by the finance ministry on Wednesday.
According to the report, the measures to be taken before the end of the year to increase revenue are:
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Review Airport Taxes and Fees (ATF) rates
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Review duty concessions provided under Export Import Act
The measures for next year include:
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Review green tax rates
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Broaden GST base
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Formulation of Excise Tax Regime
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Review Import Duty rates
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Review CIT rate for telecom operators
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Review GST rates
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Review tourism land rent regime
For 2026, the measure are:
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Monetisation of Carbon Credits
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Formulate a presumptive tax regime
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Formulate green tax fee mechanism
Other measures include formulating an infrastructure fee mechanism in 2027 and formulate a property tax regime in 2028.
The report comes as Fitch downgraded the Maldives' Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'CCC+' from 'B-'.
The downgrade of the Maldives' IDRs to 'CCC+' reflects increased risks associated with the country's worsening external financing and liquidity metrics.
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