State revenue continues to decline; import duty alone sees 64% drop

State revenue declined by close to 19 percent in the first five weeks of the year compared to the same period last year, according to the latest weekly fiscal updates released by the Finance Ministry.

The latest updates show the state earned 3.36 billion in revenue and grants as of February 6, compared to the MVR 4.64 billion generated during the same period last year.

This marks an 18.8 percent decline in total revenue.

Tax and non-tax revenue have both declined.

The statistics show the state earned MVR 3.36 billion in tax revenue this year, compared to the MVR 3.95 billion last year. This marks a decline of MVR 589 million or 14.9 percent.

The biggest decline in tax revenue is from import duties and business profit tax.

The state earned MVR 138 million in import duties this year, compared to 385 million last year. This marks a decline of MVR 247 million or 64 percent.

The decline in import duty comes after a free trade agreement between Maldives and China took effect at the start of this year.

Business profit tax declined by 23 percent – coming down from MVR 1.7 billion last year to MVR 1.3 billion this year.

Meanwhile, non-tax revenue dropped by 42 percent, with declines tourism land rent, quota fee and airport development fee.

The state’s expenditure has also declined this year; coming down from MVR 3.26 billion last year to MVR 2.48 billion this year – marking a decline of 34 percent.