Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer has said that the state budget for next year will be MVR 41.5 billion.
The minister shared the information while speaking to reporters at the President's Office on Thursday.
The minister said further changes to the budget for next year are likely as the budget is still being prepared. The government's revenue is expected to return to 2019 levels, and the state revenue is expected to reach MVR 24.9 billion by the end of this year, he said.
"In 2023, total revenue will be around MVR 30.7 billion. These are the figures that we will include in our fiscal policy," the minister said.
With the change in fuel subsidy, the Maldives' expenditure is expected to reach MVR 43 billion by the end of this year, said Ameer. The estimated fuel subsidy has increased sixfold due to the increase in oil prices, he explained.
The total budget for the current year is MVR 37 billion. The government is expected to receive MVR 24.3 billion in revenue, while expenditure is expected to be MVR 34.1 billion this year. However, the total debt will be higher than that logged in the budget book as the revenue will not be as high as the Finance Ministry had forecast this year. By the end of September, the national tax agency, MIRA, received MVR 16.6 billion as revenue.
Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer
