Malé, Maldives – The Economic Council on Wednesday retracted the amendment to the Tourism Act proposing to reduce resort rent.
The government states that the decision to reduce resort rent was made before the Russia-Ukraine invasion and has since been retracted.
The decision has been revised following criticism by the public and warnings by financial institutions.
During the investigative stage by the parliament, the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) Governor highlighted the economic crisis in Sri Lanka as a cautionary tale and warned against reducing the resort rent, amid the side shocks from the Russia-Ukraine invasion.
Further, the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) estimated that the decision if approved will result in a loss of roughly MVR 590 million, eliminating 40 percent of the average revenue from resort rent.
MIRA is currently naming and shaming 13 resorts for rent payment delinquency totalling MVR 656 million.
While the government has retracted the amendment to reduce resort rent, the parliament will continue with other amendments to the Tourism Act.
