The Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) has announced a robust collection of USD 132.3 million in October, significantly surpassing both last year's figures and its monthly revenue forecast.
This figure represents a substantial 16.7 percent increase compared to October 2024 and is 1.2 percent higher than the projected revenue for the month.
The substantial year-on-year growth is largely attributed to a strong performance in the tourism sector, evidenced by higher revenue from Tourism Sector GST and Green Tax. This was bolstered by a 12.6 percent surge in tourist arrivals in September compared to the previous year. Further contributing factors include the increase in the Green Tax rate, effective 1 January and an upward adjustment in airport tax and fee rates implemented in December 2024.
MIRA's ability to exceed its October revenue forecast stemmed from higher-than-anticipated collections from non-tourism GST, tourism GST, and work permit fees. Additionally, unexpected revenue streams from land sales, land transfer fees, corporate social responsibility (CSR) fees, and resort lease extension fees played a significant role, as revenue from these sources was not expected in October.
The agency also noted that 21 percent of the October revenue came from taxpayers settling dues from previous periods, while 7.1 percent originated from the recovery of pending tax payments.
Diving into the breakdown, GST emerged as the dominant revenue source for MIRA in October, accounting for 60.4 percent of total collections, equivalent to USD 79.8 million. Green Tax followed as the second-largest contributor at USD 11.2 million. Other notable collections included USD 9.5 million from Income Tax, USD 8.9 million from Airport Development Fee, USD 8.8 million from Departure Tax, and USD 466,926 from Work Permit Fees.
Of the total revenue, MIRA also reported receiving 85.96 million in USD.