Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) revealed on Sunday that the government revenue generated for the month of September nosedived by 30.9 percent compared to the previous year.
According to the monthly statistics publicised by the authority, the state collected MVR 843.04 million in September, compared to MVR 1.22 billion during the same period in 2019.
MIRA attributed the decrement to the impact of the ongoing COVID-10 pandemic on the tourism industry of Maldives, which contributes to two-thirds of the country's GDP.
The tourism industry came to a deadlock from March 27 till July 15 when Maldives closed its sea and air borders to curb the spread of the coronavirus. After the easing of border restrictions, the country recorded only 22,007 arrivals until October 5, whereas numbers stood at 382,760 before borders closed down.
MIRA stated that the low tourist arrivals, which in turn resulted in low economic activity, led to a decline in the collection of Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Green Tax.
The highest revenue in September was collected from Income Tax at 45.7 percent, followed by GST at 25.8 percent and Business Profit Tax (BPT) at 17.8 percent. Residential Permits, Zakat and other fees made up the remainder.
Meanwhile, MIRA recorded a US Dollar revenue of 6.74 million, with taxes generated from TGST at 57.4 percent, BPT at 12.8 percent and Resort Land Rent at 9.7 percent. Green Tax contributed only 6.8 percent, while USD revenue was also generated from Income Tax (6.5 percent) and other fees.
The restrictions on international travel due to the ongoing pandemic left Maldives' heavily tourism reliant economy in an extremely vulnerable state. In mid-April, the World Bank projected that Maldives would be the worst-hit economy in the South Asian region due to COVID-19.
Maldives estimates a shortfall of approximately USD 450 million (MVR 6.9 billion) in foreign currency and a state deficit of MVR 13 billion in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on the tourism industry.
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