The Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) has recorded a significant increase in state revenue in July this year compared to last year.
The statistics published by MIRA show that the state received USD228.9 million by the end of July, which is a 2.5% increase compared to the same period last year. Moreover, it is a 10.6% increase compared to the projected revenue for July.
The statistics show that a large amount of the state revenue collected in July was from Income Tax. As such, USD119.9 million were collected in Income Tax, USD79 million were collected in Goods and Services Tax (GST), USD10 million were collected in Tourism Land Rent, and USD5.9 million were collected in green tax. In addition, USD4 million were collected in airport development fees and USD10 million were collected in other fees and tax.
MIRA stated that the key catalyst behind the revenue for July was the augmented tax inflow from corporate and individual entities, further amplified by non-resident withholding tax and individual income tax. MIRA added that the deadlines for filing income tax returns for 2022, as well as the submission of the first interim statement of income tax for 2023, had been shifted to July this year. This deferment resulted in an unanticipated boost in revenue.