Deputy Speaker: No other way but to collect MVR 15.4 bn in dues

Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim. (Photo/People's Majlis)

The state has no other option but to collect the billions of Rufiyaa in revenue it is owed, says Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim, promising that the Parliament will “get to the bottom of this.”

His remark comes after President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, in his address at the Independence Day function on Friday, said that the state is owed approximately MVR 13 billion, and that his administration will recover the funds.

In a post on X on Saturday morning, Nazim, a leading figure within the People’s National Congress (PNC), shared details regarding the dues.

He said that the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, which he sits in, will hear from the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) regarding the uncollected revenue in a meeting scheduled for Tuesday.

According to Nazim, the meeting will be attended by the Commissioner General of Taxation Hassan Zareer.

Nazim said the balance of uncollected revenue as of the end of May stands at over MVR 15.4 billion This includes MVR 7.8 billion in tax revenue and MVR 7.7 billion in non-tax revenue.

Outstanding tax revenue:

Airport tax and fee: MVR 414,215,088.35
Bank income tax: MVR 15,900.97
Business profit tax: MVR 416,945,529.37
Corporate income tax: MVR 1,120,058,469.24
Employee withholding tax: MVR 13,393,625.68
Green tax: MVR 289,400,238.71
GST: MVR 3,334, 841,606.56
Non-resident withholding tax: MVR 118,327,426.49
Plastic bag fee: MVR 110,396,320
Personal income tax: MVR 53,046,665.11
TGST: MVR 1,675,009,896.03
Withholding tax: MVR 218,204,349.60

Outstanding non-tax revenue:

Land rent and CSR: MVR 6,930,422,451.78
Long-term agricultural lease: MVR 80,542,558.69
Other: MVR 670,706,457.72

“There are no 2 ways, we have to collect the dues,” he wrote. “And we will get to the bottom of this.”

Nazim said that the Public Accounts Committee has important work in next week’s schedule.

On Monday, the committee will interview former finance minister Ahmed Munawwar for the post of governor of Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA).

The committee is also scheduled for meetings with officials from MMA, MIRA, Attorney General’s Office, Finance Ministry and Economic Ministry regarding the country’s economic situation.

In his Independence Day address, President Muizzu blamed former administrations for failure to recover funds owed to the state.

He said that the recovery of the funds is crucial to alleviating the country’s fiscal burden.