New tax introduced on local tourism

Tourists staying in guesthouses in the Maldives will be charged a tax of US$3 for each day of stay effective October 1.

The green tax on guesthouses was passed into law by the ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives dominated-parliament on Wednesday, despite opposition MPs and guesthouse owners warning that it would deter visitors to local islands.

The new tax, which comes on top of a 12 percent tourism goods and services tax, marks the government’s latest policy U-turn. When the tax was first introduced in 2014, then-tourism minister said he was exempting guesthouses in order to reduce the impact on small and medium businesses.

Tourists staying at resorts started paying US$6 as green tax in November last year