The government has released the weekly fiscal development reports following criticism from the public and opposition for stopping the disclosure of the figures.
The reports for the first two weeks of this year are now available on the Finance Ministry website. According to the reports, MVR 524 million has been spent while MVR 390.3 million has been earned as revenue.
Both expenditure and revenue were lower than the same period last year.
Tax revenue accounts for a large percentage of the state's revenue. Revenue from taxes stood at MVR 275.5 million while non-tax revenue stood at MVR 114.8 million. The highest revenue was earned from tourism GST.
The bulk of the expenditure went to the operational costs of the state. The largest amount was to pay interest on debt and procurement of office equipment and services. One of the biggest expenses this year will be financing and interest expenses.
The budget for this year includes MVR 5.2 billion for financing and repaying interests. This is double the MVR 2.2 billion budgeted for debt repayment. Experts predict the biggest financial pressures will come from repayments.
The budget for this year is MVR 49.8 billion with a deficit of MVR 14 billion. Finance and industry experts believe that the biggest challenge for the state this year will be to earn enough revenue.
The government is working with domestic and foreign investors and friendly countries to raise the money. The Finance Ministry recently opened an opportunity for investors interested in lending to Maldives. It also plans to raise money by selling T-bills and bonds in the domestic market.
