Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) recorded a 54 percent dip in USD revenue in 2020.
According to statistics released by MIRA, the government received USD 653 million as revenue during 2019. However, the amount dropped to USD 296 million in 2020, which is a 54 percent decrease in the amount collected compared to the previous year.
The statistics showed that USD 142 million was received as Tourism Goods and Services Tax (TGST) during the last year, while USD 319 million was received in 2019. During 2020, USD 22 million was received as Green Tax while USD 55 million was received in 2019.
While USD 42 million was received as Business Profit Tax (BPT) in 2019, the amount fell to USD 32 million in 2020. USD 18 million was received in 2020 as Airport Service Charge, which levied on passengers departing from the Maldives. This is comparable to the USD 47 million collected the previous year.
Dollar revenue dipped significantly even in the high peak period for tourism which is in December. While USD 73 million was received as USD revenue in during December 2019, the amount fell by more than half to USD 39 million in December 2020.
The dollar revenue was affected significantly in 2020 due to the Maldives closing its borders to tourists during March 2020. The borders were reopened after four months on July 15th. Although the government had hoped to host a record amount of tourists in 2020, the unforeseen circumstance saw only 555,000 tourists visiting the Maldives during the year. Over 1.7 million tourists had visited the Maldives during the previous year.
