Maldives Records 60,000+ Individual Taxpayers Ahead of Aasandha Reforms
The publication of these tax statistics coincides with broader government plans to reform public spending. | Photo: Envato
Statistics show that more than 60,000 people are registered as individual taxpayers by the end of last year. According to a report by the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA), a total of 86,637 entities were registered for income tax by the end of 2025.
The data shows that individual income tax registrations reached 60,489, while registrations for companies and non-individual businesses stood at 25,865. Additionally, 29 entities were de-registered from the income tax system, comprising eight individuals and 21 companies and non-individuals.
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Under the Income Tax Act, a withholding tax applies to salaries and allowances for individuals earning a monthly income of MVR 60,000 or above, a policy implemented in April 2020. MIRA’s report highlights that the tourism sector dominates this category, with employees in the industry contributing 55.2 per cent of the total employee withholding tax collected.
The legislation also mandates personal income tax for private businesses and individuals whose taxable income exceeds MVR 720,000 annually. For the 2023 tax year, 1,397 filers reported income above this threshold, a figure that rose to 1,454 for the 2024 tax year, contributing to higher tax collections.
Despite the large volume of individual registrants, personal income tax from individuals brought in MVR 172.08 million, accounting for just 3.3 per cent of total income tax revenue. Corporate entities continue to generate the largest share of income tax, while individual tax reporting saw its most prominent growth within the education, wholesale, and retail sectors.
The publication of these tax statistics coincides with broader government plans to reform public spending. President Muizzu recently announced that the administration will halt full Aasandha state health insurance coverage for high-income earners and income taxpayers making over MVR 60,000 a month.
Citing feedback from international financial institutions and technical experts regarding the current system’s fairness, the President stated that future healthcare access for individuals earning above the MVR 60,000 threshold will transition to a “co-pay” or “pre-pay” model, or require an annual fee paid to the government. The policy changes take effect next month.
