Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) collected MVR 61 million as Green Tax in July.
A good revenue was generated as Green Tax, while legal professionals have questioned whether the tax could be levied for the month of July following a negligent amendment to the Tourism Act.
The government proposed an amendment to the Tourism Act to review the rate of Green Tax, which was passed by Parliament in July. As per the amendment, Green Tax will be charged from January 1, 2023, onwards. Another amendment has been submitted to fix the government's mistake.
Green tax collection in July was MVR 61 million, the lowest this year. MIRA has not provided any information on the reason for the decline in the amount collected.
In July, the government spent MVR 23 million on 38 projects from the Green Fund established from the revenue generated by Green Tax. After January, this is the lowest amount utilized from the fund this year.
Green Fund details:
January: 11 million
February: 107 million
March: 140 million
April: 59 million
May: 36 million
June: 51 million
July: 23 million
According to the Finance Ministry, the Green Fund has received MVR 608 million so far this year. This brings the total amount of the Green Fund to MVR 883 million.
The Green Tax was introduced in October 2016 to raise funds for various environmental protection activities in the Maldives. Until July, USD 6 was charged from vacationers at resorts, safaris, and hotels, and USD 3 from guesthouse vacationers.
