July Revenue Steady at MVR 3.41 Billion as Non-Tax Income Balances Tax Drop

Government revenue remained broadly unchanged in July, with higher non-tax receipts and bank income tax compensating for weaker collections from several major tax categories.

The Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) collected MVR 3.41 billion during the month, including USD 108.36 million received in foreign currency. Total revenue increased by just 0.2 percent compared with July 2025.

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The headline increase masked a 2.5 percent decline in tax revenue, which fell to MVR 2.97 billion. Non-tax revenue, meanwhile, rose by 23.5 percent to MVR 439.08 million, accounting for 12.9 percent of the monthly total.

Income tax remained the largest revenue source at MVR 1.66 billion, representing 48.6 percent of all collections. Goods and Services Tax contributed MVR 1.04 billion, or 30.4 percent.

Bank income tax provided one of the main sources of growth, increasing by approximately 22 percent from the previous year to MVR 537.05 million. MIRA attributed the increase to higher first interim payments reported by commercial banks for the 2026 income tax period.

General sector GST also increased by 4.7 percent to MVR 469.82 million. Land acquisition and conversion fees rose nearly fivefold, from MVR 17.10 million in July 2025 to MVR 81.41 million this year.

These gains were partly offset by weaker tourism-linked collections. Tourism sector GST fell by 9.4 percent to MVR 565.35 million, while green tax revenue declined by 10.8 percent to MVR 142.40 million. Airport Development Fee collections decreased by 9.3 percent to MVR 135.99 million, and departure tax revenue fell by 4.4 percent to MVR 134.23 million.

MIRA reported that tourist arrivals in June, which affected some July collections, were 3.1 percent below the forecast.

Revenue collected under codes included in the monthly forecast reached MVR 3.27 billion, falling 3.6 percent short of the projected MVR 3.40 billion. Lower-than-expected corporate income tax, non-resident withholding tax and bank income tax collections contributed to the shortfall.

The original income tax deadline coincided with a public holiday and was extended to 2 August, shifting some expected payments out of July. Bank income tax also fell below its forecast because some advance payments were received ahead of the July deadline, although the category still recorded annual growth.

Revenue recovery activity made a substantial contribution during the month. Payments relating to past deadlines represented 18.4 percent of July revenue, while targeted initiatives to recover outstanding dues accounted for another 11 percent.

MIRA recorded MVR 449 million in enforced collections. This included MVR 248.07 million through dunning, MVR 92.12 million through dues clearance, MVR 78.38 million through instalment plans and MVR 30.49 million following reminder calls and emails.

Despite the limited annual growth recorded in July, cumulative revenue for the first seven months of 2026 reached MVR 22.71 billion, an increase of 11.2 percent from MVR 20.42 billion during the same period last year. The figures indicate that revenue performance remains ahead of 2025 levels, although July’s result depended heavily on non-tax receipts and the recovery of outstanding payments.