Maldives tax receipts dip in September

The Maldives tax authority has reported a 10 percent decline in revenue for September 2017 compared to the same period in 2016.

The revenue statistics for last month, published on Wednesday by the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority, records a total revenue of MVR989 million (US$64 million).

MIRA recorded MVR1 billion in monthly revenue for 2016, a 24 percent increase from the year before.

A MIRA spokesperson told the Maldives Independent that the decline in collected revenue was due to a decision to extend the payment deadline for tourism land rent fees and other taxes until October 1.

Out of the MVR989 million in revenue collected last month, two-thirds were in US dollars.

The biggest contributor to September revenue was the goods and services tax, which accounted for 47 percent of all revenue, followed by tourism land rent and business profit tax.