The government has proposed a State budget of MVR 42.68 million for next year, as it looks to regain the economic momentum from pre-COVID years.
The budget was submitted to the parliament by Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer at the parliament's session today.
It has a deficit of MVR 8.46 billion.
Finance Ministry said that with this budget the government had tried to minimize the financial risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. It said that the budget aims to maintain the sustainability of fiscality and debt management.
The Ministry had estimated that the government would get MVR 32.1 billion through income and aid. While it forecasts an annual income of MVR 29.62 billion next year, the Ministry expects MVR 2.48 billion as aid and grants.
It said that next year, the Maldives would enjoy an economic growth of 7.6 percent. It further said that this was higher than the average economic rate of the country in the last 10 years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Ministry stated that it estimates that the government deficit would reach MVR 8.46 billion next year. But it warned that this figure could almost double without increasing revenue or without cost-cutting measures.
With this, the government decided to increase the tax rate as well as review its expenditure on fuel subsidies, State-owned Enterprises, and the national health insurance scheme Aasandha.
