The Maldives Bureau of Statistics (MBS) has stated that the tax changes have not increased commodity prices.
The newly ratified Bill on Amendment to the Goods and Services Tax Act will increase Goods and Services Tax (GST) from 6% to 8% and Tourism Goods and Services Tax (TGST) from 12% to 16% on January 1, 2023. There were also discussions on the increase of commodity prices. However, the inflation rate of common household items in the Maldives shows that the commodity prices did not rise significantly in January. According to MBS, the inflation rate stood at 0.96% at the end of January this year. The rate stood at 0.49% in December last year.
Speaking to PSM News on the change in tax and market prices, Chief Statistician of MBS Aishath Hassan said inflation has not risen so much as most of the items included in the inflation rate in the Maldives are exempt from GST. In addition, she said the biggest price increase is in the transport sector. She said that is due to rising fuel prices due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Inflation is an important measure of the growth of a country's economy. The economy is expected to grow by 7.6% in 2023.