Govt to present 2025 budget on Thursday

The Finance Ministry is scheduled to present the proposed state budget for next year on Thursday, according to Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim.

Speaking on Sunday during a meeting of the joint of the Public Accounts Committee and the Economic Committee, Nazim said that Speaker Abdul Raheem Abdulla has decided to hold a sitting for the presentation of the budget on Thursday.

Before making the remark, Nazim submitted a motion in favor of finishing the review of four tax hike bills by the end of Monday.  The motion to finish the review of the government bills within one day passed with a majority vote of 16-3.

The four bills submitted by the government to the Parliament last week seek to double the Green Tax, and raise the TGST, the Airport Departure Tax, the Airport Development Fee, and taxes on tobacco products.

Last week, the Finance Ministry also submitted a proposed supplementary budget of MVR 5.1 billion – which will increase the total budget this year to MVR 55 billion.