Finance Minister announces plans to revise import duties, GST
13 Jun 2012, 6:07 PM
Minivan News
Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad has announced the government intends to revise changes made to import duties and the Goods and Services Tax (GST), reports Haveeru.
Jihad is said to have explained that the revisions to import duties, initiated by the previous administration, have “not even come close” to covering the cost of income lost after reductions to import duties.
Haveeru reports that the Rf2 billion the state had previously earned from import duties had been halved whilst the GST earnings had not made up the shortfall as anticipated.
Jihad told Haveeru that the government was continuing to engage in deficit reduction measures which will include reducing state expenditure by 15 percent whilst raising Tourism Goods and Services Tax (TGST).
The current budget deficit has been estimated by the Majlis Financial Committee to be 27 percent of GDP this year – Rf9.1 billion (US$590 million).