Ministry of Finance has revealed that the state revenue has increased by around USD400 million in 2022 compared to the first 10 months of last year.
The Weekly Fiscal Development report showed the Maldives received USD1.4 billion from January 1 to October 27 this year, which is a significant increase compared to the USD1 billion in revenue received in the same period of last year. A large part of the state revenue was received from tax revenue amounting to USD1 billion, which is an increase compared to the USD800 million received in the same period of last year which is a 36.7% increase. The non-tax revenue stood at USD400 million this year. The non-tax income includes airport development fees, dividends from government-owned companies, and property income. The report shows that the state received tax revenue mostly in the form of import duties amounting to USD170 million, Business and Property Tax (BPT) amounting to USD260 million, and Goods and Services Tax (GST) amounting to USD510 million.
The report showed that the government projects and expenditures also increased compared to last year. The government also spent USD2 billion during the same period this year, compared to USD1 billion during the same period last year. Government expenditure mainly includes recurrent expenditure and capital expenditure. The largest portion of recurrent expenditure was spent on salaries. The government spent USD600 million on salaries this year compared to USD540 million last year which is a 7.2% increase over the previous year, according to the report.
The Maldives is expected to receive USD2 billion in total revenue and grants in 2023 which is a 21.8% increase compared to 2022. As such, the tax revenue is expected to be USD1.5 billion and non-tax revenue USD395 million by the end of the year.