The Cabinet has decided to amend some laws to increase the government's dollar reserves and make some taxes payable in dollars.
The decision was taken after the national bank, Bank of Maldives (BML), suspended dollar transactions from its Rufiyaa accounts on Sunday.
At a press conference after the cabinet meeting, Attorney General Ahmed Usham said the laws would be amended to require companies earning in dollars to pay corporate income tax and import tax in dollars.
"The cabinet decided that companies earning in dollars sometimes pay the state in Rufiyaa. In some cases, they pay corporate income tax to MIRA [Maldives Inland Revenue Authority] in Rufiyaa. However, we will change this by making necessary amendments to the law and regulations," he said.
The amendments will be sent to parliament within the next two weeks, he said.
On Sunday evening, BML reversed a decision to block dollar transactions with Rufiyaa cards and reduce the limit of previously issued credit cards to USD 100.
Economic Minister Mohamed Saeed told the press conference that the board of BML, in which the government is the majority shareholder, suspended dollar transactions with the Rufiyaa card contrary to the advice of President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu.
