Statistics from the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) reveal that more than 60,000 individuals earn a monthly income exceeding MVR 60,000, the threshold for mandatory income tax.
According to MIRA’s annual report for last year, there were 86,637 registered income taxpayers by the end of the year. Of these, 60,489 are registered as individual taxpayers.
The majority of those registered for income tax are individuals earning high incomes through private businesses. Data shows that 23,098 individuals pay tax on their employment salaries, while the remainder are taxed due to high earnings from business ventures.
Last year, the state collected MVR 172 million in individual income tax. This marks an increase compared to 2020, the year the tax was introduced, when collections stood at MVR 41 million. Individual income tax revenue has more than tripled within three years.
Although individuals make up the largest group of income taxpayers, they contribute the smallest percentage of total revenue. While the state collected a total of MVR 5.2 billion across all income tax categories last year, individual income tax accounted for only three percent of that total.
The government has now decided to discontinue full Aasandha health insurance coverage for individuals within this high-income bracket.
President Mohamed Muizzu has announced that starting this October, individuals earning enough to pay income tax will only receive Aasandha benefits through a co-pay or pre-pay system. The President stated that this change is expected to save the state MVR 287 million next year, adding that these funds would be redirected toward other public needs.
