According to the latest Weekly Fiscal Developments Report released by the Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprises, revenue for the year rose by MVR 2.1 billion or 10.4 per cent compared to MVR 20.3 billion in the same period in 2025.
PSM News
The Maldives' fiscal position remained strong in the first six months of 2026 due to increased tax revenues, especially corporate income tax and goods and services tax (GST). Thus, as of 2 July 2026, the total revenue and grants received by the state reached MVR 22.4 billion.
According to the latest Weekly Fiscal Developments Report released by the Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprises, revenue for the year rose by MVR 2.1 billion or 10.4 per cent compared to MVR 20.3 billion in the same period in 2025. Taxes accounted for the largest share of the state's revenue. Tax revenue increased to MVR 17.3 billion from MVR 15.3 billion last year. This is an increase of MVR 2.0 billion or 13.0 per cent.
Due to increased business activity and the deadline for payment of income taxes during the period, the biggest increase was recorded in corporate income tax. Corporate income tax collection stood at MVR 1.7 billion, an increase of MVR 97.7 million or 6.2 percent over the same period in
In addition, GST also played an important role in the revenue of the state. Total GST collection stood at MVR 9.6 billion, an increase of MVR 835.4 million or 9.6 percent over the previous year. This includes MVR 2.9 billion in general GST and MVR 6.6 billion in tourism sector GST (T-GST).
The government spent a total of MVR 23.4 billion during the period. This is an increase of MVR 4.2 billion or 21.7 per cent compared to MVR 19.2 billion last year. The biggest reason for the increase in expenditure last week was the increase in employee salaries and allowances. In addition, despite the rise in oil and other commodity prices in the world market due to the ongoing war in the Middle East, the government's subsidy expenditure to maintain the cost of basic goods and services has also increased by MVR 1.4 billion so far this year. This reflects the government’s priority for the continuous delivery of public services and equalisation of civil service pay arrangements.
Salaries and wages totalled MVR 3.7 billion, up 13.9 percent from the previous year. Total expenditure on salaries and pensions stood at MVR 8.0 billion. Ongoing expenditure or recurrent expenditure stood at MVR 20.3 billion, while capital expenditure on development projects increased to MVR 3.0 billion. This shows that the government is increasing its investments in infrastructure development projects.
Despite the increase in expenditure, the government recorded a primary surplus of MVR 1.7 billion. This is a measure of the ability of the state to cover public expenditures from revenue, excluding debt repayment and interest expenses. However, the overall balance of the budget, including all expenditure, was in deficit of MVR 975.9 million.
