The deposits to the Green Fund have reached over USD103 million by the end of September, Ministry of Finance statistics have shown.
According to the Ministry of Finance Green Fund report, Maldives received USD5.7 million as green tax in September with tourist resorts the biggest contributor.
Green tax is a tax payable by tourists who stay in tourist resorts, integrated tourist resorts, resort hotels, tourist hotels, hotels, tourist guesthouses, tourist vessels and other such establishments.
The Green Fund Report shows that green tax collections stood at USD5.7 million in September this year. The largest amount of green tax was collected from resorts during the period with USD5.2 million.
The report also shows that tourist hotels paid USD136,000 in green tax in September. USD311,000 were collected from guesthouses, while Safaris paid USD84,000 and USD500 was collected from homestays in green tax during this period.
Hotels in inhabited islands and tourist guesthouses with more than 50 rooms are charged USD6 per day, and hotels in residential areas and tourist guesthouses with 50 rooms or less are charged USD3 per day as green tax.
According to the report, the Green Fund balance has reached USD103 million as of September.
The government has decided to increase green tax rates from 1 January 2025. The tax rate will be increased to USD12 for the USD6 tax bracket, while the USD3 tax bracket will face a rate hike to USD6.
However, children below the age of two will now be exempt from green tax.
According to the "Budget Position Report" the change in tax rates will see the green tax revenue increase by 95.2 percent next year with the estimated revenue to rise by USD62.4 million.