There are 482 locals and 889 foreigners in the country earning more than MVR 200,000, according to the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA).
Employee withholding tax statistics for the third quarter of this year show that 13,840 employees from 590 employers are registered for withholding tax. These include 7,598 locals and 6,242 foreigners. Those earning MVR 60,000 or more per month are required to register for withholding tax.
According to MIRA, if any employee of an employer is required to register for withholding tax, the employer will also have to register those earning over MVR 30,000 as their monthly salary. However, only employees earning more than MVR 60,000 per month will have to pay withholding tax.
Statistics of salaried local employees
Salary between MVR 30,000 and MVR 60,000 - 3,350 employees
Salaries between MVR 60,000 and MVR 100,000 - 1,380 employees
Salary between MVR 100,000 and MVR 150,000 - 685 employees
Salary between MVR 150,000 and MVR 200,000 - 345 employees
Salary above MVR 200,000 - 482 employees
According to MIRA figures, 2,569 foreigners earn between MVR 30,000 and 60,000 while 2,255 foreigners earn between MVR 60,000 and 100,000. The number of foreigners earning between MVR 100,000 and 150,000 is 1,305 while 508 foreigners receive a salary between MVR 150,000 and 200,000. An additional 482 foreigners earn above MVR 200,000 in a month.
Of the 590 employers registered for withholding tax, 507 are private companies. The 13,840 registered foreign employees are from 122 countries.
Withholding tax's tax rate
MVR 60,000 or less - zero rate
MVR 60,000 or more but 100,000 or less - 5.5 percent
MVR 100,000 but 150,000 or less - eight percent
MVR 150,000 but less than 200,000 - 12 percent
Above MVR 200,000 - 15 percent
The government collected MVR 166.5 million in employee withholding tax as of October this year.
