Former president Mohamed Nasheed declared in a tweet Wednesday that the current circumstances is not ideal to charge Green Tax from guesthouses.
His tweet in local Dhivehi language comes in the wake of the parliament’s approval to impose a Green Tax of USD 3 from guesthouses, which will be implemented in October.
Voicing his concern over the parliament’s decision, Nasheed said in his tweet that currently tourism profit is at a low, with resorts and guesthouses unable to make ends meet. The former president who had introduced the guesthouse industry in the Maldives under his regime stated charging Green Tax from guesthouses at such a time is not ideal.
The parliament’s approval of Green Tax from guesthouses, which had been slashed from the original proposal of USD 6 to USD 3, was followed by outcries from guesthouses and its association body.
Tourism minister Moosa Zameer had moved to appease those concerned, stating that Green Tax from guesthouses is a necessity to achieve their environment-targeted goals, such as the establishment of efficient waste management in guesthouses.
However, Guest House Association of Maldives had warned that Imposing Green Tax on guesthouses, in addition to their current taxes, will hike guesthouse rates as to render them incapable of competing with the budget rates of regional countries, and thus lose their market.
The association further noted that guesthouse owners would be forced to pay the Green Tax from their own pockets for the next year, in light of the bookings and tax-inclusive agreements they had already made with agents for the whole year.
Green Tax was introduced last November and is currently charged from tourists in resorts, hotels and safaris at a daily rate of USD 6.
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