Business & Tourism
Tax revenue boosted by February tourist arrivals bump
Tax revenue of MVR1.5 billion (US$97 million) collected in March was 23 percent higher than forecast and 16 percent higher than the same period last year.
Tax revenue of MVR1.5 billion (US$97 million) collected in March was 23 percent higher than forecast and 16 percent higher than the same period last year.
Tourism goods and services tax receipts grew substantially on the back of a 19 percent bump in arrivals during February, according to the tax authority’s monthly revenue report.
“Additionally, recovered assessed taxes of BPT [Business Profit Tax] and GST were higher, which led to this significant increase. Furthermore, the inclusion of Airport Development Fee, which was not collected in March 2017, contributed to this increase,” the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority explained.
Tourist arrivals grew in February despite travel advisories from key markets in response to a state of emergency declared by the president. The government gave repeated assurances that resorts were unaffected by the 45-day state of emergency as the unrest was confined to the capital.
On Sunday, the Velana International Airport hosted a record number of private jets at the start of Easter holidays.
Some MVR1.6 billion has been collected as TGST so far this year, representing 33 percent of all revenue and up from MVR1.3 billion during the same period in 2017.
The majority of the revenue collected last month was in US dollars.
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