Tax increases will result in more poverty among the populace: MRM
Maldives Reform Movement (MRM), an ally of the ruling coalition, has said that the increase will result in more poverty among the populace
A recent increase in the TGST from 12% to 16% and the GST from 6% to 8% was approved by Parliament. The regulation will become active starting from January 1, 2023.
A statement released by MRM stated that the government had only taken the recommendation to raise taxes from GST and TGST to increase revenues. Due to this, the sizeable portion of the weaker segment of society would pay more tax making it more vulnerable and impoverished.
MRM believes that the poorest people will have to pay about MVR 640 as GST to the government and this would drive the people into poverty
the statement reads
MRM highlighted that it is important to cut down on public expenditure as suggested by the financial institution. However, the 2023 budget did not focus on reducing the expenditure.
The party believes that planning a way to convert the subsidy money into target subsidies is an important step towards reducing costs. We call upon the government to revise the policy of providing subsidy to the rich at par with the weaker sections and ensure that the deserving get the subsidy
said the statement
The Finance Ministry presented a budget of MVR 42.6 billion for the fiscal year 2019-20. However, the budget committee approved an increase of MVR 160 crore in the budget. With this, the total budget has increased to MVR 42.8 billion.
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