Parliament on Tuesday accepted for consideration a Bill on Amendment to the Maldives Tourism Act which sought to levy Green Tax on tourists staying at guesthouses.
The amendment was proposed by Majority Leader of Parliament - Villimale’ MP Ahmed Nihan Hussein Manik from the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), and sent to the Parliament Committee as a Whole for further review. As per the current legislation, the Green Tax, which came into effect on November 1, 2015, is payable by tourists who stay at tourist resorts, hotels and tourist vessels. It however does not include guesthouses.
The Green Tax is payable at the rate of US$6 per day. The bill also sought to impose a fee on all tourism-related services provided by the Tourism Ministry. MP Nihan also proposed to allow the Government to accept unsolicited proposals for acquisition of islands, lagoons and land plots for tourism development. The amendment also set guidelines for leasing property for tourism development.
Parliament also accepted for consideration a policy paper on terrorism and violent extremism submitted by President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom. The paper was sent to an 11-member ad hoc committee for further review. Earlier, the President’s Office said the paper was submitted because of the gravity of the issue, and its possible impact on national security and the safety of the Maldivian people. It said the President recognized that terrorism and violent extremism are a global issue without boundaries, impacting on the powerful and weak alike, and he had also stressed the importance of urgent, additional and stronger measures to be taken nationally, both within the current legal framework, and some after amendment of the legal framework. The statement further said issues arising from terrorism and violent extremism, both internationally and domestically, are issues which the Government placed a high importance in addressing.